LITCHFIELD  COUNTY 


PACK  ANN  EX 


I 

ll  111 


EX 


Cjartf  arfc: 

PUBLISHED  BY  EDWIN  HUNT,  NO.  6  ASYLUM  ST. 

1851. 


« 

' 


EX  LIBRIS 

LISHAWfflPPtfi 


/ 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION, 


at  Ciicfjfielb, 


13TH  AND  14TH  OF  AUGUST,  1851. 


HARTFORD: 

PUBLISHED  BY  EDWIN  HUNT,  NO.  6  ASYLUM  ST. 

1851. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by 

EDWIN  HUNT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Connecticut. 


STEAM  PRESS  OF 

GEORGE  D.  JEWETT, 

26  STATE  STREET,  HARTFORD. 


CONTENTS. 


Pago 

Address  from  Town  Committee  of  Litchfield 15 

Address,  by  Judge  Church 23 

Arrangements  of  the  Central  Committee  .         .         .         .         .16 

Benediction,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Robbins,  D.  D 191 

Circular  of  Central  Committee  to  Town  Committees         .        .        .10 

Circular  Letter  of  Invitation,  &c. 12 

Concluding  Remarks 211 

Discourse,  by  Horace  Bushnell     .         .  .        .        .        .107 

Letters 133 

Meeting  of  the  Bar      .........          5 

Meeting  of  the  Citizens  of  Litchfield  County 7 

Meeting  of  the  Central  and  Town  Committees      "...         13 

Meeting  at  Richland 146 

Officers  of  the  Day. — Order  of  Procession,  &c.,  &c-     ...         17 

Poem,  by  Rev.  J.  Pierpont 73 

Poem,  by  A  Native  of  Woodbury 195 

Poem,  by  Rev.  J.  Lee 198 

Poem,  by  H.  Ward 200 

Poems,  by  J.  L.  Wadsworth 202,  203, 204 

Poems,  by  P.  K.  Kilbourne 193,  -305 

Portraits 20S 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  George  A.  Calhoun 19 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  Rufus  Babcock,  D.  D.  ...  .  102 


IV  CONTENTS 


Pag« 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  Fosdick  Harrison 190 

Second  Day ...  101 

Speech,  by  Hon.  D.  S.  Dickinson 149 

Speech,  by  Hon.  A.  J.  Parker     .         .         .         .         .         .         .  155 

Speech,  by  Hon.  F.  A.  Tallmadge  . 161 

Speech,  by  David  Buell,  Esq 165 

Speech,  by  Edward  Tompkins,  Esq 169 

Speech,  by  George  W.  Holley.  Esq 173 

Speech,  by  George  Gould,  Esq 177 

Speech,  by  Henry  Dutton,  Esq 181 

Song. — Auld  Lang  Syne 187 


MEETING  OP  THE  BAR. 


AT  a  meeting  of  the  Bar  of  Litchfield  County,  held  January 
8th,  1851,  the  following  Resolution  was  adopted,  viz. : 

Whereas,  during  the  present  year  a  century  will  elapse  since  the  organ- 
ization of  this  County  ;  and,  whereas,  the  subject  of  a  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion of  that  event  has  been  under  consideration,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Phelps,  Seymour,  Hubbard,  Hal],  Hollister, 
Harrison,  and  Foster,  be  a  Committee  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of 
the  County  to  consider  that  subject,  and  to  take  such  order  therefor,  by  the 
appointment  of  a  Committee  of  Arrangements,  or  otherwise,  as  shall  be 
deemed  best. 

The  Committee  appointed  under  the  foregoing  resolution,  in  pursuance 
thereof,  do,  therefore,  hereby  call  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  County, 
to  be  held  at  the  Court  House,  on  Wednesday,  the  19th  day  of  February, 
1851,  at  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  to  take  into  consideration  the  subject 
ef  said  Centennial  Celebration,  and  to  make  the  needful  preliminary  ar- 
rangements. And  the  Committee  respectfully  request  a  general  attend- 
ance of  gentlemen  friendly  to  the  object,  from  every  town  in  the  County, 
in  order  that  a  Committee  of  Arrangements  from  each  town  may  then  be 
appointed. 

C.  B.  PHELPS,  Chairman. 


OF 


LITCHFIELD  COUNTY. 


AT  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Litchfield  County,  convened 
pursuant  to  a  call  of  the  Committee,  at  the  Court  House  in 
Litchfield,  February  19th,  1851,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
preparations  for  a  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  organization  of 
the  County : 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Charles  B.  Phelps,  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee,  and  on  motion,  Origen  S.  Seymour, 
Abijah  Catlin,  and  Gideon  H.  Hollister,  were  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee to  nominate  officers  of  the  meeting. 

The  Committee  made  the  following  Report  which  was  unani- 
mously accepted : 

™ 

FOR    PRESIDENT, 

WILLIAM  M.  BURRALL. 

FOR    VICE    PRESIDENTS, 


DAVID  S.  BOARDMAN, 
SETH  P.  BEERS, 
ERASTUS  LYMAN, 
RUSSEL  C.  ABERNETHY, 
CHARLES  B.  PHELPS, 


DANIEL  B.  BRINSMADE, 
JOHN  BOYD, 
SAMUEL  W.  GOLD, 
ALEXANDER  H.  HOLLEY. 


FOR    SECRETARIES. 


ROGER  H.- MILLS,  ,  JULIUS  B.  HARRISON, 

EDWARD  CARRINGTON,  EDWARD  W.  ANDREWS 


8  MEETING   OP  THE   CITIZENS   OP  LITCHFIELD   COUNTY. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  adopted  on  report  of  a  Com- 
mittee appointed  for  the  purpose  : 

Whereas,  we  have  now  entered  on  the  one  hundredth  year  since  the 
organization  of  the  County  of  Litchfield,  and  as  during  this  period  thou- 
sands of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  County  have  emigrated  to  other 
States  and  countries,  many  of  whom  are  still  living  and  occupying  promi- 
nent positions  in  public  stations,  professions,  and  occupations,  who,  as  well 
as  others,  would  rejoice  to  return  and  visit  the  homes  of  their  childhood, 
and  we  would  rejoice  to  meet  and  welcome  them  : 

Resolved,  That  for  this  purpose  a  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION  shall  be 
held  at  Litchfield,  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  the  13th  and  14th  days  of 
August,  1851,  and  that  a  Committee  of  Arrangements  from  the  different 
towns  in  the  County  be  appointed ;  also,  a  Central  Committee,  to  make 
the  necessary  and  suitable  arrangements  for  the  occasion. 

Resolved,  That  among  the  public  exercises  there  be  a  Sermon,  Oration, 
and  Poem ;  a  Public  Dinner,  and  other  social  entertainments,  at  which 
there  will  be  delivered,  by  invitation  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements, 
short  Addresses  and  Poems  suited  to  the  occasion. 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  shall  make  the  invitation  of  attendance 
as  general  through  the  public  papers,  and  as  particular  by  letter,  as  possi- 
ble, and  that  the  general  arrangements  for  the  celebration  be  made  public 
through  the  newspapers  and  otherwise,  as  early  as  possible. 


The  following  persons  were  then  appointed  a 

CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 


SETH  P.  BEERS, 
JONATHAN  LEE, 
DAVID  C.  SANFORD, 
HOLBROOK  CURTIS, 
ORIGEN  S.  SEYMOUR, 


G    H.  HOLLISTER, 
ROBBINS  BATTELL, 
EDWIN  B.  WEBSTER, 
WILLIAM  H.  THOMPSON. 


The  following  named  gentlemen  were  appointed  from  their 
respective  towns  as  a 

COMMITTEE   OF  ARRANGEMENTS. 

LITCHFIELD  —  SAMUEL  CHURCH, 

GEORGE  C.  WOODRUFF, 
'  DAVID  L.  PARMELEE, 

WILLIAM  BEEBE, 
'  HUGH  P.  WELCH, 

JONATHAN  BUEL. 


MEETING   OF  THE   CITIZENS   of  LITCHFIELD   COUNTY. 


BETHLEM, JOHN  C.  AMBLER, 

"  JOSHUA  BIRD, 

PHILO  H.  SKIDMORE. 
BARKHAMSTED,... LESTER  LOOMIS, 
"  HIRAM  GOODWIN, 

PELEG  SHEPARD, 
"  CORNWELL  DOOLITTLE. 

CANAAN, WILLIAM  M.  BURRALL, 

SAMUEL  F.  ADAM, 
"  HARLEY  GOODWIN, 

FITCH  FERRIS, 
CHARLES  HUNT. 

COLEBROOK, EDWARD  A.  PHELPS, 

REUBEN  ROCKWELL, 
EDWARD  CARRINGTON, 
ABIRAM  CHAMBERLIN. 

CORNWALL, BENJAMIN  SEDGWICK, 

FREDERICK  KELLOGG, 
GEORGE  WHEATON, 
"  EDWARD  W.  ANDREWS, 

"  H.  MILTON  HART. 

GOSHEN, JOSEPH  I.  GAYLORD, 

"  LAVALETTE  S.  PERRIN, 

LEWIS  M.  NORTON, 
"  HORATIO  N.  LYMAN, 

"  LAMONT   STREET. 

HARWINTON, TRUMAN  KELLOGG, 

"  ABIJAH   CATLIN, 

PHINEAS  W.  NOBLE. 

KENT, WELLS  BEARDSLEY, 

"  JOHN  M.  RAYMOND, 

"  PETER  W.  MILLS, 

44  HENRY  I.  FULLER, 

ASHBEL  FULLER. 
NEW  HARTFORD,.. HERMON  CHAPIN, 

JAMES  F.  HENDERSON, 
JARED  B.  FOSTER, 
"  THOMAS  WATSON. 

NEW  MILFORD,... DAVID  S.  BOARDMAN, 
"  PERRY  SMITH, 

"  ORANGE  MERWIN, 

"  GEORGE  TAYLOR, 

ROYAL  I.  CANFIELD. 

NORFOLK, MICHAEL  F.  MILLS, 

WARREN  CONE, 
E.  GROVE  LAWRENCE, 
ORRIN  TIBBALS, 
SAMUEL  D.  NORTHWAY. 

PLYMOUTH, EPHRAIM  LYMAN, 

ELISHA  JOHNSON, 
TERTIUS  D.  POTTER, 
EDWARD  LANGDON. 

ROXBURY, MYRON  DOWNS, 

HERMON  B.  EASTMAN, 
AARON  W.  FENN. 
SALISBURY, JONATHAN  LEE, 


10     CIRCULAR  OF   CENTRAL   ClMMITTEE  TO   TOWN   COMMITTEES. 


SALISBURY ROBERT  N.  FULLER, 

SAMUEL  C.  SCOVILLE, 
DONALD  J.  WARNER. 

SHARON, ANSEL  STERLING, 

CHARLES  F.  SEDGWICK, 
JOHN  COTTON  SMITH, 
WILLIAM  T.  KING. 

TORRINGTON, LORRAIN  THRALL, 

GEORGE  D.  WADHAMS, 
"  CHARLES  B.  SMITH, 

"  ANSON  COLT. 

WARREN, GEORGE  STARR, 

CHARLES  CARTER, 
GEORGE  P.  TALLMADGE. 

WASHINGTON ITHIEL  HICOX, 

WILLIAM  MOODY, 
"  REMUS  M.  FOWLER, 

"  DAVID  C.  WHITTLESEY. 

WATERTOWN, MERRIT  HEMINWAY, 

"         LEMAN  W.  CUTLER, 

WILLIAM  B.  HOTCHKISS, 
"  HOLBROOK  CURTIS, 

JOHN  DE  FOREST, 
"  NATHANIEL  WHEELER. 

WINCHESTER, WM.  S.  HOLABIRD, 

LEMUEL  HURLBUT, 
"  JOHN  BOYD, 

"  JEHIEL  COE. 

WOODBURT, NATHANIEL  B.  SMITH, 

CHARLES  B.  PHELPS, 
»  WILLIAM  COTHREN, 

»  CHARLES  H.  WEBB, 

"  ELIJAH  SHERMAN, 

"  GARWOOD  H.  ATWOOD. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Central  Committee  on  the  26th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1851,  the  Hon.  Samuel  Church,  of  Litchfield,  a  native  of 
Salisbury,  was  selected  to  deliver  the  Oration ;  Rev.  Horace 
Bushnell,  D.  D.,  of  Hartford,  a  native  of  Litchfield,  the  Sermon, 
and  the  Rev.  John  Pierpont,  LL.  D.,  of  Medford,  Mass.,  a 
native  of  Litchfield,  the  Poem,  and  on  being  notified  of  their 
appointments  immediately  signified  their  acceptance. 

On  the  22d  of  March  the  Chairman  of  the  Central  Committee 
issued  to  the  Committees  of  the  several  towns  the  following 

CIRCULAR. 

"LITCHFIELD,  March  fc2d,  1851. 

GENTLEMEN:  —  Having  received  several  communications  in  relation  to 
the  approaching  Centennial  Celebration,  from  the  Town  Committees, 


CIRCULAR   OF   CENTRAL   COMMITTEE   TO   TOWN   COMMITTEES.    11 


making  enquiries  as  to  the  nature  and  duties  expected  from  them,  we 
take  the  liberty  of  making  a  few  suggestions  on  that  subject. 

Invitations  have  been  prepared,  and  will  soon  be  printed,  to  be  addressed 
to  the  emigrants  from  the  County,  requesting  their  attendance  at  the  cele- 
bration. Copies  of  these  invitations  will  be  sent  you  in  a  few  days,  for 
you  to  direct  to  such  natives  of  your  town  as  you  may  choose  to  send  to, 
and  we  would  recommend  that  thorough  enquiry  be  made,  so  that  the  invi- 
tations may  be  sent  to  all  who  ought  to  be  invited. 

We  also  respectfully  request  you  to  procure  Portraits  ans?  other  relics 
of  the  past,  illustrative  of  former  manners  and  modes  of  life,  to  be  for- 
warded some  few  days  before  the  festival,  so  that  they  may  be  properly 
arranged  for  exhibition. 

We  further  take  the  liberty  of  suggesting,  that  it  may  be  well  to  have 
gatherings  of  the  natives  of  each  town,  in  the  towns  where  they  belong, 
before  the  days  of  the  general  meeting  at  Litchfield.  In  the  event  that 
this  suggestion  should  be  adopted,  the  Committee  of  the  Town  will,  of 
course,  act  as  a  Committee  of  Reception  and  Arrangement,  in  regard  to  it. 

And  we  would  also  suggest,  that  they  select  an  individual,  who  may 
come  prepared  to  make  some  remarks  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  your 
town,  when  called  on  by  the  presiding  officer  of  the  day;  and  let  the 
name  of  such  individual  be  seasonably  furnished  to  the  Central  Committee. 

The  Committee  will  be  happy  to  receive  any  short  Poem,  suitable  to  be 
read  or  sung  at  the  meeting. 

Individuals,  who  cannot  attend  in  person,  are  requested  to  forward  to 
the  Committee  a  sentiment,  to  be  read  on  the  occasion. 

The  gentleman  who  delivers  the  Address  wishes  information  on  the 
topics  embraced  in  the  following  questions,  and,  therefore,  requests  of  you 
an  early  answer ;  to  be  addressed  to  the  Hon.  Samuel  Church,  at  this 
place,  viz.  : 

1.  At  what  time  was  the  settlement  of  your  town  commenced? 

2.  What  is  the  date  of  the  Charter  of  the  town  1 

3.  What  Indians  inhabited  the  place  at  the  time  of  its  settlement,  their 
character,  &c.  ? 

4.  What  was  the  name  and  character  of  the  first  minister  of  the  town 
and  his  immediate  successors  1 

5.  General  and  field  officers,  chaplains,  and  captains  in  the  war  of  the 
American  Revolution  1 

6.  Notices  of  distinguished  lawyers,  divines,  physicians,  or  authors  1 

7.  Judicial  officers  and  members  of  Congress,  natives  of  your  town  1 

8.  Other  distinguished  men  natives  of  your  town  ? 

9.  Origin  and  present  condition  of  manufactures  of  the  town  1 

10.  Agricultural  condition  of  the  town  ? 

11.  Any  miscellaneous  matters  worthy  of  notice  ? 

Respectfully  yours, 

SETH  P.  BEERS,  Chairman  Central  Com. 


12  CIRCULAR   LETTER   OF  INVITATION,   ETC. 

On  the  22d  of  May  the  Central  Committee  prepared  the  fol- 
lowing letter  of  invitation  to  emigrants  from  the  County,  caused 
about  fifteen  hundred  copies  to  be  printed  and  distributed  to  the 
Committees  of  the  several  towns,  to  be  by  them  directed  and 
forwarded  to  the  emigrants  from  their  respective  towns : 

LETTER  OF  INVITATION. 

LITCHFIELD,  May  22d,  1851. 

DEAR  SIR  :  —  You  have,  perhaps,  noticed  ia  the  newspapers,  that  a 
Centennial  Celebration  of  the  County  of  Litchfield,  is  to  be  held  at  this 
place  on  the  13th  and  14th  of  August  next. 

At  this  celebration  we  expect  a  large  gathering  of  those  who  have 
emigrated  from  this  County  to  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
other  lands. 

Measures  have  been  taken  to  render  the  occasion  interesting.  An 
address  is  expected  from  the  Hon.  Judge  Church,  a  poem  from  the  Rev. 
John  Pierpont,  and  a  sermon  from  the  Rev.  Horace  Bushnell. 

It  is  hoped  that  many  will  avail  themselves  of  this  occasion  to  re-visit 
the  homes  of  their  fathers  and  to  revive  the  associations  of  their  childhood. 

Your  own  attendance  is  respectfully  requested. 
Yours  truly, 

SETH  P.  BEERS, 
JONATHAN  LEE, 
DAVID  C.  SANFORD, 
HOLBROOK  CURTIS, 


WM.  H.  THOMPSON, 
ORIGEN  S.  SEYMOUR, 

GlDKON    H.    HOLLISTER, 

ROBBINS  BATTELL, 
EDWIN  B.  WEBSTER, 


Central    Com. 


A  general  invitation  was  also  given  through  the  public  papers 
printed  in  the  village,  and  in  other  papers  in  this  and  other 
States,  requesting  all  to  attend.  And  lest  there  might  be  some 
not  notified  or  invited,  the  Committee  gave  the  following  further 
notice  through  the  papers,  which  was  continued  down  to  the 
time  of  the  celebration : 


GENERAL  INVITATION. 


The  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  this  County,  in 
February  last,  having  been  published  in  hand-bills,  in  both  of  the  news- 
papers in  this  village,  and  in  many  other  papers  in  this  and  other  States, 


MEETING  OF  THE  CENTRAL  AND   TOWN  COMMITTEES.       13 


and  the  Central  Committee  having  given  notice  by  circular,  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  each  town,  in  addition  to  ahout  fifteen  hundred  special  invitations 
by  letter,  to  emigrants  from  the  County,  requesting  their  attendance,  it  is 
hoped  and  presumed  that  it  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  all. 

Lest  there  be  some  individuals  who  have  not  received  notice,  you  are 
requested  to  publish  the  Circular  Letter  of  Invitation,  which  was  issued 
in  May  last,  and  hope  every  native  of  the  County  will  consider  it  as 
specially  addressed  to  him. 

If,  (as  has  been  represented,)  the  Committee  in  some  of  the  towns  have 
not  yet  sent  out  to  the  emigrants  from  their  town,  the  printed  invitations 
which  were  early  forwarded  to  them  for  that  purpose,  it  is  requested  that 
no  time  be  lost  in  doing  it. 

To  the  above  was  appended  the  Circular  Letter  of  Invitation. 


On  the  4th  of  July  the  Chairman  of  the  Central  Committee 
issued  the  following  Circular  to  all  the  Town  Committees  to 
meet  them  at  Litchfield,  the  18th  of  July ;  pursuant  to  which, 
a  meeting  was  held  and  the  following  proceedings  had  : 

CIRCULAR. 

To  THE  TOWN  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  TOWN  OF :     The  Central 

Committee  for  the  approaching  Centennial  Celebration  desire  to  meet 
the  Town  Committees,  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  the  occasion,  and  propose  that  such  meeting  be  held  at  the 
Mansion  House,  in  Litchfield,  on  Friday,  the  18th  day  of  July,  at  11  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  at  which  time  a  full  attendance  is  requested,  in  order  that  the  final 
arrangements  may  then  be  made. 

Per  Order  of  the  Central  Committee, 

S.  P.  BEERS,  Chairman. 


MEETING   OF   THE   CENTRAL  AND   TOWN   COMMITTEES. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Central  and  Town  Committees,  held  at  Litchfield, 
en  Friday,  the  18th  inst.,  for  the  purpose  of  making  arrangements  for  the 
County  Centennial  Celebration,  John  Boyd,  Esq.,  of  Winchester,  was 
called  to  the  Chair.  Robbins  Battell,  of  Norfolk,  was  appointed  Clerk. 

Hon.  S.    P.  Beers,  Chairman  of  the  Central  Committee,  made  a  full 


14       MEETING   OF  THE   CENTKAL   AND   TOWN   COMMITTEES. 


statement  of  what  had  been  accomplished  by  the  Committee,  and  wished 
to  lay  the  subject  of  other  arrangements  before  the  meeting,  for  their  advice 
and  action. 

After  consultation,  it  was 

Voted,  That  the  large  tent  owned  by  the  corporation  of  Yale  College, 
be  procured,  and  if  hereafter  thought  necessary,  the  smaller  college  tent, 
alse. 

Voted,  To  procure  the  services  of  a  good  band  of  music. 

Voted,  To  dispense  with  a  public  dinner. 

Voted,  That  we  approve  of  the  project  of  an  Encampment  for  the  male 
inhabitants  of  the  County  not  residing  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Litch- 
field,  while  we  look  to  the  citizens  of  Litchfield  to  provide  sleeping  accom- 
modations for  the  females,  and  for  friends  from  out  of  the  County. 

Voted,  To  appoint  the  following  Committee  to  make  arrangements  for 
the  Encampment :  John  Boyd,  of  Winchester,  Peter  W.  Mills,  of  Kent, 
William  Cothren,  of  Woodbury,,  Charles  Adams,  of  Litchfield,  Robbins 
Battell,  of  Norfolk. 

Voted,  To  raise  eight  hundred  dollars  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
celebration. 

Voted,  To  appoint  Edwin  Webster,  of  Litchfield,  Treasurer  of  the 
funds  raised  by  last  resolve. 

Voted,  To  appoint  Major-General  William  T.  King,  of  Sharon,  Mar- 
shal, on  the  occasion  of  our  celebration. 

Voted,  To  invite  the  Sheriff  and  his  deputies  to  be  on  duty  for  the  pre- 
servation of  good  order. 

Voted,  To  authorize  the  Central  Committee  to  employ  such  additional 
police  force  as  they  may  deem  necessary. 

Voted,  To  request  the  Central  Committee  to  see  that  accommodations 
are  provided  for  horses. 

Voted,  To  request  the  Town  Committees  .to  procure  the  loan  of  old 
family  portraits,  to  be  exhibited  at  the  court  room  in  Litchfield. 

JOHN  BOYD,  Chairman. 
R.  BATTELL,  Clerk. 


MARSHALS. 

Maj.  General  Win.  T.  King,  Marshal  for  the  day,  immediate- 
ly appointed  twenty-two  Assistant  Marshals,  one  from  each  town 
in  the  County,  viz. : 
I 

Litchfield,  Col.  Wm.  F.Baldwin;  Harwinton,  Abijah  Catlin,  Esq.; 
Colebrook,  Gen.  Edward  A.  Phelps;  Norfolk,  Col.  Robbins  Battell; 
Goshen,  Gen.  G.  Cook;  Salisbury,  Col.  Nathaniel  Benedict;  Sharon, 


ADDRESS  FROM  TOWN  COMMITTEE  OF  UTCHFIELD.  15 


Andrew  Lake,  Jr.  Esq. ;  Washington,  A.  J.  Center,  Esq. ;  New  Mil- 
ford,  Col.  J.  C.  Smith;  Kent,  Maj.  P.  W.  Mills;  Winchester,  Roland 
Hitchcock,  Esq. ;  Woodbury,  Charles  H.  Webb,  Esq. ;  Torrington, 
Rufus  W.  Gillett,  Esq. ;  Bethlem,  Samuel  Bird,  Esq.  ;  Cornwall,  Col. 
Dwight  Pierce ;  Plymouth,  Seth  Thomas,  Jr.,  Esq. ;  New  Hartford, 
Capt.  Wm.  T.  Nash;  Canaan,  Walter  Cowles,  Esq.;  Roxbury,  Col. 
Albert  Hodge ;  Barkhamsted,  Col.  Justin  L.  Hodge  ;  Watertovvn,  Col. 
Wm.  B.  Hotchkiss;  Warren,  Maj.  E.  Carter.  The  Marshals  will  wear 
as  a  badge,  a  sash  of  red. 


On  the  21st  of  July,  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  for  the 
town  of  Litchfield,  prepared  and  published  the  following  sugges- 
tions to  their  citizens : 


TO   THE   CITIZENS   OF  LITCHFIELD. 

The  approaching  Centennial  imposes  upon  you  some  important  duties ; 
and  that  these  duties  may  be  effectively  performed,  the  Town  Committee 
beg  leave  to  make  you  some  suggestions. 

I.  At  a  meeting  held  on  the  17th  inst.,  of  the  Central  Committee,  in 
connection  with  the  committees  of  the  several  towns,  (an  account  of  which 
meeting  is  published  in  the  newspapers,)  it  was  resolved  to  raise  $800  to 
defray  public  expenses,  to  wit :  Band  of  music,  erection  of  seats,  tents, 
and  tables,  printing,  &c.     Three  hundred  dollars  of  this  expense  is  allot- 
ted to  be  raised  by  the  town  of  Litchfield,  and  will,  we  doubt  not,  be  readily 
and  cheerfully  subscribed. 

II.  It  is  expected  of  every  citizen  of  the  town,  that  he  will,  at  his  own 
house,  on  the  days  of  the  occasion,  exercise  a  most  liberal  hospitality. 

1st.  By  entertaining  his  own  family  friends,  emigrants  from  this  town. 

2d.  By  inviting  his  friends  and  acquaintances  from  other  parts  of  the 
county.  And  this  hospitality  is  invoked  in  favor  not  only  of  man  and  wo- 
man kind,  but  stable  and  barn  room  must  be  provided  for  horses  and  car- 
riages of  our  friends. 

III.  It  is  expected  of  the  Ladies,  that  very  ample  provision  will  be  made 
in  each  house  to  accommodate  for  a  single  night  all  of  their  own  sex  who 
may  be  here  on  the  occasion ;  and  a  little  exertion  on  the  part  of  each 
householder,  will  secure  this  important  object.     It  is  very  easy  to  put  up 
in  every  room  of  the  house,  several  beds-     All  the  old  bedsteads  must  be 
set  up,  and  may  easily  be  furnished  for  a  night  with  clean  straw  beds 
Mr.  Bulkley  is  ready  to  set  up  at  a  small  expense,  in  every  house,  such 
extra  bedsteads  as  may  be  required. 

A  communication  in  the  Enquirer  implies  a  doubt,  whether  this  duty 


16  ARRANGEMENTS   OF  THE  CENTRAL   COMMITTEE. 


will  be  thoroughly  met.  We  trust,  for  the  credit  of  our  hospitable  town, 
that  this  doubt  is  wholly  groundless.  A  failure  here  would  involve  us  in 
overwhelming  disgrace.  The  celebration  is  in  honor  of  the  county  which 
bears  our  name,  and  of  which  this  is  the  honored  Capitol,  famed  in  the 
past,  for  talent,  worth,  generosity  and  hospitality.  Let  us  not  show  our- 
selves unworthy  of  oar  past  history. 

It  is  expected  that  each  town  will  provide  mainly  its  own  eatables  ;  but 
it  is  presumed  that  every  family  here  will  keep  set  at  all  hours  of  the  day, 
a  table  for  the  entertainment  of  such  friends  as  may  not  be  otherwise 
provided. 

These  suggestions  are  made,  not  only  for  the  people  of  the  village,  and 
its  immediate  vicinity,  but  all  the  houses  in  the  town  ought  to  be  prepared 
in  like  manner. 

SAMUEL  CHURCH,         ~| 
DAVID  L.  PARMELEE, 

GEORGE  C.  WOODRUFF,  I  Town  Committee  of 
WM.  BEEBE,  j          Litchfield. 

HUGH  P.  WELCH, 
JONATHAN  BUEL,  J 

LITCHFIELD,  July  21st,  1851. 


The  Central  Committee  residing  in  Litchfield,  appointed  a 
meeting  of  themselves,  to  be  held  each  day  for  two  or  three 
weeks  previous  to  the  celebration. 

The  Park  in  the  West  street,  was  selected  for  the  exercises, 
near  the  center  of  which  was  erected  the  large  tent  belonging  to 
Yale  College,  with  large  additions,  over  which  floated  the  National 
flag.  Beneath  the  covering  was  arranged  the  stand  for  the 
speakers,  officers,  and  others.  In  front  and  around  it,  were  long 
rows  of  substantial  seats  sufficient  to  accommodate  from  three  to 
four  thousand  persons.  Other  tents  surrounded  it,  with  their 
flags  bearing  the  names  of  the  towns  whose  citizens  erected  and 
occupied  them.  Many  other  tents  were  erected  in  different 
parts  of  the  village. 

The  Sheriff  had  selected  several  special  deputies  to  be  on  duty 
for  the  preservation  of  order.  Twenty  members  of  the  "  Bacon 
Guards,"  were  selected  to  perform  duty  through  each  night.  A 
sub-committee  was  appointed  to  be  in  constant  attendance  to 
provide  accommodations  for  visitors  and  their  horses  as  they 
should  arrive. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  DAY — ORDER  OF  PROCESSION,  ETC.   17 

General  Daniel  B.  Brinsmade,  of  Washington,  was  designated 
as  President  of  the  day. 

General  R.  C.  Abernethj,  of.  Torrington ;  Charles  B.  Phelps, 
Esq.,  of  Woodbury ;  Roger  H.  Mills,  Esq.,  of  New  Hartford ; 
John  Buckingham,  Esq.,  of  Watertown,  and  Hiram  Goodwin, 
Esq.,  of  Barkhamsted,  as  Vice  Presidents. 

A  programme  of  the  exercises  was  printed  in  handbills  and 
published  in  the  village  papers.  And  agreeably  thereto,  a  pro- 
cession was  formed  on  Wednesday,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  in  front 
of  the  Mansion  House,  under  the  direction  of  General  King, 
Marshal  of  the  day,  and  his  Assistants,  in  the  following  order,  viz : 

Band  of  Music,  from  the  Watervliet  Arsenal,  N.  Y. 

Governor  Seymour,  and  General  Brinsmade,  President  of  the 
day. 

Vice  Presidents. 

Orators  of  the  day  and  Poet. 

Clergy. 

Central  Committee  of  Arrangements. 

Town  Committees. 

Emigrant  Sons,  &c.,  of  the  County. 

Odd  Fellows,  Cadets  of  Temperance,  &c. 

Citizens  at  large. 


The  procession  marched  from  the  Mansion  House,  through  a 
part  of  the  East  street,  thence  up  North  street,  and  returning, 
entered  the  Pavilion  in  the  west  Park,  at  about  11  o'clock. 

The  audience  being  seated  as  far  as  practicable,  the  exercises 
were  opened  with  vocal  music  by  the  Litchfield  County  Musical 
Association,  who  sang  with  fine  effect  the  following  Psalm,  to 
the  tune  of  Old  Hundred,  viz. : 


"  BE  thou,  0  God !  exalted  high ; 
And,  as  thy  glory  fills  the  sky, 
So  let  it  be  on  earth  displayed, 
Till  thou  art  here,  as  there,  obeyed. 


18  OPENING  EXERCISES — SINGING. 

2 

0  God,  my  heart  is  fixed — 'tis  bent, 
Its  thankful  tribute  to  present ; 
And,  with  my  heart,  my  voice  I'll  raise 
To  thee,  my  God,  in  songs  of  praise. 

3 

Thy  praises,  Lord,  I  will  resound 
To  all  the  listening  nations  round ; 
Thy  mercy  highest  heaven  transcends, 
Thy  truth  beyond  the  clouds  extends. 

4 

Be  thou,  0  God,  exalted  high  ; 
And,  as  thy  glory  fills  the  sky, 
So  let  it  be  on  earth  displayed, 
Till  thou  art  here,  as  there,  obeyed." 


OPENING   EXERCISES — PRAYER.  19 


PRAYER. 


A  fervent  and  impressive  prayer  was  offered  to  the  throne  of 
Divine  Grace,  by  the  Rev.  GEORGE  A.  CALHOUN,  of  Coventry,  a 
native  of  Washington,  in  nearly  the  following  words,  viz. : 

Almighty  God,  our  heavenly  Father ;  our  fathers'  God,  and 
our  God :  we  recognize  Thee  as  the  God  of  the  earth,  and  of  the 
heavens  ;  swaying  an  undivided  sceptre,  controlling  the  worlds 
which  revolve  in  the  heavens,  and  the  falling  sparrow,  and  num- 
bering the  hairs  of  our  head.  We  rejoice  in  the  manifestations 
of  thy  love,  mercy,  and  grace,  unto  us.  We  bless  Thee  for  the 
institutions  of  our  fathers,  and  that  it  pleased  Thee  to  cast  our 
lot  in  a  land  so  highly  favored,  to  give  us  our  birth  in  a  common- 
wealth so  highly  blessed,  and  in  a  portion  of  it  so  signally  fav- 
ored of  Thee.  And  we  bless  Thee,  that  the  institutions  of  our 
fathers  have  been  continued  to  the  present  time,  and  that  Thou 
hast  allowed  us,  natives  of  this  County,  to  assemble  from  different 
towns,  counties,  and  states,  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  this 
Centennial  Anniversary  of  this  County's  organization,  and  to 
mingle  together  our  praises,  and  our  supplications,  to  Thee,  around 
the  sepulchres  of  our  fathers.  0,  grant  us  Thy  presence  and 
Thy  smiles  on  this  occasion.  We  pray,  that  God,  of  His  infinite 
mercy,  would  look  down  upon  us,  and  bestow  upon  us  His  favor  ; 
lifting  upon  us  the  light  of  His  countenance,  and  enabling  all  of 
us,  connected  by  birth  with  this  County,  to  pursue  that  course 
of  conduct  in  life,  which,  through  thy  grace,  shall  secure  the 
favor  of  heaven,  and  perpetuate  the  privileges  which  we  enjoy  to 
future  generations. 

Wilt  thou,  Almighty  God,  smile  on  the  services  of  this  occa- 
sion. May  they  be  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  Thy  name.  And 
may  Thy  grace  be  magnified  in  richly  blessing  this  great  col- 
lection of  natives  of  the  same  State,  and  of  the  same  County. 
And  may  we  all  be  enabled  to  live  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  be 


20  OPENING   EXERCISES — PRAYER. 

. 

prepared  to  meet  together  in  the  great  assembly,  and  celebrate 
Thy  praise  in  an  undying  song. 

Regard  in  mercy,  Our  Heavenly  Father,  all  the  inhabitants  of 
this  State,  and  of  this  nation.  Prosper  all  interests,  civil,  liter- 
ary, religious,  and  charitable,  of  the  land;  and  show  mercy, 
grace,  and  salvation,  to  all  the  dying  children  of  men.  And 
hasten  that  blessed  period,  when  the  light  of  the  moon  shall  be 
as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be  seven- 
fold, as  the  light  of  seven  days.  And  to  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  shall  be  the  glory  forever.  AMEN  ! 


^~^~P 

\ — 'v 


ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED  AT  LITCHFIELD,   CONK, 


ON    THE    OCCASION    OF    THE 


JUDGE    CHURCH. 


JUDGE  CHUKCH'S  ADDRESS. 


THE  Hon.  SAMUEL  CHURCH,  LL.  D.,  Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  was 
then  introduced  to  the  audience,  who  commenced  the  delivery  of  his 
Oration.  When  about  half  through  a  recess  was  taken  until  2  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  when  the  address  was  resumed  and  finished,  —  occupying  about 
two  hours  and  a  half,  which  is  as  follows  : 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  : 

I  have  no  leisure  now  to  offer  apologies  for  my  unadvised  con- 
sent to  appear  before  you,  in  this  position,  on  the  present  occa- 
sion. Declining  years,  and  the  constant  pressure  of  other  duties, 
should  have  excused  me. 

My  residence  of  sixty-six  years  from  my  nativity  in  this 
County,  and  an  acquaintance  of  half  a  century,  of  some  intimacy, 
with  the  events  which  have  transpired,  and  with  the  men  who 
have  acted  in  them  here,  and  having  been  placed  within  tradi- 
tional reach  of  our  early  history,  I  suppose,  has  induced  the  call 
upon  me  to  address  you.  In  doing  this,  I  shall  make  no  drafts 
upon  the  imagination,  but  speak  to  you  in  the  simple  idiom  of 
truthful  narrative. 

Among  the  most  ancient  and  pleasant  of  New  England  usages, 
has  been  the  annual  gathering  of  children  and  brethren  around 
the  parental  board  on  a  Thanksgiving  day.  The  scene  we  now 
witness  reminds  me  of  it.  Litchfield  County, — our  venerable 
parent,  now  waning  into  the  age  of  an  hundred  years,  has  called 
us  here,  to  exchange  our  mutual  greetings,  to  see  that  she  still 
lives  and  thrives,  and  hopes  to  live  another  century. 


24  ADDRESS. 


A  little  display  of  vanity  on  the  part  of  such  a  parent,  thus 
surrounded  by  her  children,  may  be  expected  ;  but  speaking  by 
me,  her  representative,  it  shall  not  be  excessive.  She  must  say 
something  of  herself — of  her  birth  and  parentage — of  her  early 
life  and  progress,  and  of  the  scenes  through  which  she  has  pass- 
ed. She  may  be  indulged  a  little  in  speaking  of  the  children  she 
has  borne  or  reared,  and  how  they  have  got  along  in  the  world. 
To  tell  of  such  as  she  has  lost,  and  over  whose  loss  she  has 
mourned ;  and  in  the  indulgence  of  an  honest  parent's  pride, 
she  may  boast  somewhat  of  many  who  survive,  and  who  have  all 
through  this  wide  country  made  her  name  and  her  family  res- 
pected. 

We  meet  not  alone  in  this  relation,  but  we  come  together  as 
brethren,  and  many  of  us  after  long  years  of  separation  and  ab- 
sence, to  revive  the  memories  and  associations  of  former  years. 

Some  of  you  come  to  visit  the  graves  of  parents  and  friends — 
to  look  again  into  the  mansions  where  the  cradle  of  your  infancy 
was  rocked,  or  upon  the  old  foundations  where  they  stood — to 
look  again  upon  the  favorite  tree,  now  full  grown,  which  your 
young  arms  clasped  so  often  in  the  climbing,  or  upon  the  great 
rock  upon  and  around  which  many  a  young  gambol  was  perform- 
ed. You  come  to  enter  again,  perhaps,  the  consecrated  temples 
at  whose  altars  the  good  man  stood  who  sprinkled  you  with  the 
waters  of  baptism,  and  from  whose  lips  you  learned  the  lessons 
which  have  guided  your  footsteps  in  all  your  after  life. 

These  are  but  some  of  the  pages  in  the  history  of  early  life, 
which  it  is  pleasant  after  the  lapse  of  years  to  re-peruse.  And 
now,  if  the  spirits  of  these  dead  can  pierce  the  cloud  which  hides 
our  view  of  heaven,  they  look  down  with  a  smile  of  love  upon 
your  errand  here ;  and  when  you  shall  leave  us  on  the  morrow, 
many  of  you  will  feel  in  truth,  as  did  the  patriot  Greek,  "  mori- 
ens  reminiscitur  Argos." 

A  stranger  who  looks  upon  the  map  of  Connecticut,  sees  at  its 
north-west  corner  a  darkly  shaded  section,  extending  over  almost 
the  entire  limits  of  this  County,  indicating,  as  he  believes,  a  re- 
gion^of  mountains  and  rocks — of  bleak  and  frozen  barrens.*  He 

* Litchfield  County  is  the  large  Northwestern  county  of  Connecticut;  averaging  about 
thirty-three  miles  in  length,  with  about  twenty-seven  miles  in  breadth  ;  bounding  North  on 
Berkshire  County,  Mass.,  and  West  on  New  York.  The  present  number  of  towns  is  twenty- 


ADDRESS.  25 


turns  his  eye  from  it,  satisfied  that  this  is  one  of  the  waste  places 
of  the  State — affording  nothing  pleasant  for  the  residence  of  men. 
He  examines  much  more  complacently  the  map  of  the  coast  and 
the  navigable  streams.  But  let  the  stranger  leave  the  map,  and 
come  and  see !  He  will  find  the  mountains  which  he  anticipated 
— but  he  will  find  streams  also.  He  will  find  the  forests  too,  or 
the  verdant  hill-sides  where  they  have  been  ;  and  he  will  see  the 
cattle  on  a  thousand  hills,  and  hear  the  bleating  flocks  in  many  a 
dale  and  glen,  and  he  will  breathe  an  atmosphere  of  health  and 
buoyancy,  which  the  dwellers  in  the  city  and  on  the  plain  know 
little  of.  Let  him  come,  and  we  will  show  him  that  men  live 
here,  and  women  too,  over  whom  it  would  be  ridiculous  for  the 
city  population  to  boast :  a  yeomanry  well  fitted  to  sustain  the 
institutions  of  a  free  country.  We  will  show  him  living,  moving 
men  ;  but  more  than  this,  we  will  point  out  to  him  where,  among 
these  hills,  were  born  or  reared,  or  now  repose  in  the  grave,  many 
of  the  men  of  whom  he  has  read  and  heard,  whose  names  have 
gone  gloriously  into  their  country's  history,  or  who  are  now  al- 
most every  where  giving  an  honorable  name  to  the  County  of 
Litchfield,  and  doing  service  to  our  State  or  nation. 

The  extensive  and  fertile  plains  of  the  Western  country  may 
yield  richer  harvests  than  we  can  reap  ;  the  slave  population  of 
the  South  may  relieve  the  planter  from  the  toil  experienced  by  a 
Northern  farmer ;  and  the  golden  regions  of  California  may 
sooner  fill  the  pockets  with  the  precious  metals ; — and  all  this 
may  stand  in  strong  contrast  with  what  has  been  often  called  the 
rough  and  barren  region  of  Litchfield  hills.  But  the  distinguish- 
ing traits  of  a  New  England  country,  which  we  love  so  well,  are 
not  there  to  give  sublimity  to  the  landscape,  fragrance  and  health 
to  the  mountain  atmosphere,  and  energy  and  enterprise  to  mind 
and  character. 

Not  many  years  ago,  I  was  descending  the  last  hill  in  Norfolk 
in  a  stage-coach,  in  company  with  a  lady  of  the  West,  whose  for- 


two.    The  towns  of  Hartland  and  Southbury  which  originally  belonged  to  it,  were  annexed  to 
other  counties  more  that  40  years  since. 

The  surface  of  the  County  is  hilly,  some  parts  mountainous,  and  is  the  most  elevated 
County  in  the  State.  It  is  watered  by  numerous  lakes,  and  by  the  Housatonic,  Naugatuck, 
and  Shcpauge  Rivers,  furnishing  much  valuable  water-power,  which  is  extensively  used  by 
the  thriving  manufacturing  establishments.  The  Housatonic  and  Naugatuck  Railroads 
pass  through  the  County  on  the  vallies  of  the  streams  bearing  those  names. 


26  ADDRESS. 


mer  residence  had  been  in  that  town.  As  we  came  down  upon 
the  valley  of  the  Housatonic,  with  a  full  heart  and  suffused  eyes, 
she  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  how  I  love  these  hills  and  streams  !  How 
much  more  pleasant  they  are  to  me  than  the  dull  prairies  and  the 
sluggish  and  turbid  waters  of  the  Western  country."  It  was  an 
eulogy,  which  if  not  often  expressed,  the  truth  of  it  has  been  a 
thousand  times  felt,  before. 

Our  Indian  predecessors  found  but  few  spots  among  the  hills 
of  this  County,  which  invited  their  fixed  residence.  Here  was 
no  place  for  the  culture  of  maize  and  beans,  the  chief  articles  of 
the  Indian's  vegetable  food.  Their  settlements  were  chiefly  con- 
fined to  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic,  with  small  scattered  clans 
at  Woodbury  and  Sharon.  The  Scaticoke  tribe,  at  Kent,  was 
the  last  which  remained  among  us.  It  was  taken  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Colony  and  State  ;  its  lands  secured  for  its  sup- 
port. These  Indians  have  wasted  down  to  a  few  individuals, 
who,  I  believe,  still  remain  near  their  fathers'  sepulchers,  and  re- 
mind us  that  a  native  tribe  once  existed  there. 

We  now  see  but  little  to  prove  that  the  original  American  race 
ever  inhabited  here.  It  left  no  monuments  but  a  few  arrow-heads, 
which  are  even  now  occasionally  discovered  near  its  former 
homes  and  upon  its  former  hunting  grounds, — and  a  sculptured 
female  figure  made  of  stone,  not  many  years  ago  was  found  in 
this  town,  and  is  now  deposited  at  Yale  College. 

There  are  other  monuments,  to  be  sure,  of  a  later  race  of  In- 
dians ;  but  they  are  of  the  white  man's  workmanship, — the  quit- 
claim deeds  of  the  Indians'  title  to  their  lands  !  These  are  found 
in  several  of  the  Towns  in  the  County,  and  upon  the  public  re- 
cords, signed  with  marks  uncouth,  and  names  unspeakable,  and 
executed  with  all  the  solemn  mockery  of  legal  forms. — These  are 
still  referred  to,  as  evidence  of  fair  purchase !  Our  laws  have 
sedulously  protected  the  minor  and  the  married  woman  from  the 
consequences  of  their  best  considered  acts  ;  but  a  deed  from  an 
Indian,  who  knew  neither  the  value  of  the  land  he  was  required 
to  relinquish,  nor  the  amount  of  the  consideration  he  was  to  re- 
ceive for  it,  nor  the  import  or  effect  of  the  paper  upon  which  he 
scribbled  his  mark,  has  been  called  a  fair  purchase ! 

The  hill-lands  of  this  County  were  only  traversed  by  the  In- 
dians as  the  common  hunting  grounds  of  the  tribes  which  inhab- 


ADDRESS.  27 


ited  the  valleys  of  the  Tunxis  and  Connecticut  rivers  on  the  east- 
ern, and  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic  on  the  western  side. 

The  first  settlers  of  this  County  did  not  meet  the  Indian  here 
in  his  unspoiled  native  character.  The  race  -was  dispirited  and 
submissive — probably  made  up  of  fugitives  from  the  aggressions 
of  the  early  English  emigrants  on  the  coast, — the  successors  of 
more  spirited  tribes,  which,  to  avoid  contact  with  the  whites,  had 
migrated  onward  toward  the  setting  sun.  These  Indians  were 
like  the  ivy  of  the  forest,  which  displays  all  its  beauties  in  the 
shade,  but  droops  and  refuses  to  flourish  in  the  open  sunshine. 

Previous  to  the  accession  of  James  II.  to  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land, and  before  our  chartered  rights  were  threatened  by  the  ar- 
rival of  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  the  territory  now  comprising  the 
County  of  Litchfield  was  very  little  known  to  the  Colonial  Gov- 
ernment at  Hartford.  The  town  of  Woodbury,  then  large  in  ex- 
tent, had  been  occupied  some  years  earlier  than  this,  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Walker's  congregation,  from  Stratford.  The  other  parts  of 
the  County  were  noticed  only  as  a  wilderness,  and  denominated 
the  Western  Lands.  Still  it  was  supposed,  that  at  some  time  they 
might  be,  to  some  extent,  inhabited  and  worth  something.  At 
any  rate,  they  were  believed  to  be  worth  the  pains  of  keeping  out 
of  the  way  of  the  new  government  of  Sir  Edmund,  which  was 
then  apprehended  to  be  near.  To  avoid  his  authority  over  these 
lands,  and  to  preserve  them  for  a  future  and  better  time  of  dispo- 
sal, they  were  granted,  by  the  Assembly  of  the  Colony,  to  the 
towns  of  Hartford  and  Windsor,  in  1686, — at  least,  so  much  of 
them  as  lay  east  of  the  Housatonic  river.  I  do  not  stop  to  exam- 
ine the  moral  quality  of  this  grant,  which  may  be  reasonably 
doubted ;  and  it  was  soon  after  followed  by  the  usual  conse- 
quences of  grants,  denominated  by  lawyers,  constructively  fraudu- 
lent— dispute  and  contention. 

Upon  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary,  in  1688,  and  after 
the  Colony  Charter  had  found  its  way  back  from  the  hollow  oak 
to  the  Secretary's  office,  the  Colonial  Assembly  attempted  to  re- 
sume this  grant,  and  to  reclaim  the  title  of  these  lands  for  the 
Colony.  This  was  resisted  by  the  towns  of  Hartford  and  Wind- 
sor, which  relied  upon  the  inviolability  of  plighted  faith  and  pub- 
lic grants.  The  towns  not  only  denied  the  right,  but  actually 
resisted  the  power  of  the  Assembly,  in  the  resumption  of  their 


28  AP  DRESS. 


solemn  deed.  This  produced  riots  and  attempts  to  .break  the 
jail  in  Hartford,  in  which  several  of  the  resisting  inhabitants  of 
Hartford  and  Windsor  were  confined. 

It  would  be  found  difficult  for  the  Jurists  of  the  present  day, 
educated  in  the  principles  of  Constitutional  Law,  to  justify  the 
Assembly  in  the  recision  of  its  own  grant,  and  it  can  not  but  ex- 
cite a  little  surprise,  that  the  politicians  of  that  day,  who  had  not 
yet  ceased  to  complain  of  the  mother  country  for  its  attempts,  by 
writs  of  quo  warranto,  to  seize  our  charter,  should  so  soon  be  en- 
gaged, and  without  the  forms  of  law,  too,  in  attempts  of  a  kindred 
character  against  their  own  grantees.  No  wonder  that  resistance 
followed,  and  it  was  more  than  half  successful,  as  it  resulted  in 
a  compromise,  which  confirmed  to  the  claimants  under  the  towns 
the  lands  in  the  town  of  Litchfield  and  a  part  of  the  town  of  New 
Milford.  The  other  portions  of  the  territory  were  intended  to 
be  equally  divided  between  the  Colony  and  the  claiming  towns. 
Thus  Torrington,  Barkhamsted,  Colebrook,  and  a  part  of  Har- 
winton,  were  appropriated  to  Windsor ;  Hartland,  Winchester, 
New  Hartford,  and  the  other  part  of  Harwinton,  were  relinquish- 
ed to  Hartford ;  and  the  remaining  lands  in  dispute,  now  consti- 
tuting the  towns  of  Norfolk,  Goshen,  Canaan,  Kent,  Sharon  and 
Salisbury,  were  retained  by  the  Colony.  These  claims  having 
at  length  been  adjusted,  the  western  lands  began  to  be  explored, 
and  their  facilities  for  cultivation  to  be  known. 

Woodbury,  as  I  have  before  suggested,  by  several  years  our  el- 
der sister  in  this  new  family  of  towns,  began  its  settlement  in  1674. 
The  Church  at  Stratford  had  been  in  contention,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Walker,  with  a  portion  of  that  Church  and  people,  removed  to 
the  fertile  region  of  Pomperauge,  soon  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  Woodbury,  and  then  including,  beside  the  present  town,  also 
the  region  composing  the  towns  of  Southbury,  Bethlem  and  Rox- 
bury. 

Pomperauge  is  said  to  have  felt  some  of  the  effects  of  Philip's 
war — enough,  at  least,  to  add  another  to  the  many  thrilling 
scenes  of  Indian  depredation,  so  well-  drawn  by  the  author  of 
Mount  Hope. 

New  Milford  next  followed  in  the  course  of  settlement.  This 
commenced  in  1707.  Its  increase  of  population  was  slow  until 
1716,  when  Rev.  Daniel  Boardman,  from  Wethersfield,  was  or- 


ADDKESS.  29 


dained  as  the  first  minister.  This  gentleman  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  several  distinguished  families  and  individuals  of  the  same 
name,  who  have  since  been  and  now  are  residents  of  that  town. 
His  influence  over  the  Indian  tribe  and  its  Sachem  in  that  vi- 
cinity, was  powerful  and  restraining,  and  so  much  confidence 
had  this  good  man  and  his  family  in  the  fidelity  of  his  Indian 
friends,  it  is  said,  that  when  his  lady  was  earnestly  warned  to 
fly  from  a  threatened  savage  attack,  she  coolly  replied,  that  she 
would  go  as  soon  as  she  had  put  things  to  rights  about  her  house, 
and  had  knit  round  to  her  seam  needle !  The  original  white  in- 
habitants were  emigrants  from  Milford,  from  which  it  derives  its 
name. 

Emigrants  from  the  Manor  of  Livingston,  in  the  New  York 
Colony,  made  Indian  purchases  and  began  a  settlement  at  Wea- 
togue,  in  Salisbury,  as  early  as  1720.  After  the  sale  of  the 
township  in  1737,  the  population  increased  rapidly, — coming  in 
from  the  towns  of  Lebanon,  Litchfield,  and  many  other  places, 
so  that  it  was  duly  organized  in  1741,  and  settled  its  minister, 
Rev.  Jonathan  Lee,  in  1744. 

The  first  inhabitants  of  Litchfield  came  under  the  Hartford 
and  Windsor  title,  in  1721,  and  chiefly  from  Hartford,  Windsor 
and  Lebanon.  This  territory,  and  a  large  lake  in  its  south-west 
section,  was  known  as  Bantam.  Whether  it  was  so  called  by  the 
Indians,  has  been  doubted,  and  is  not  well  settled. 

The  settlement  of  the  other  towns  commenced  soon  after,  and 
progressed  steadily,  yet  slowly.  The  town  of  Colebrook  was  the 
last  enrolled  in  this  fraternity,  and  settled  its  first  minister,  Rev. 
Jonathan  Edwards,  in  1795.  Rev.  Rufus  Babcock,  a  Baptist 
minister,  had,  for  some  time  before  this,  resided  and  officiated  in 
the  town. 

One  general  characteristic  marked  the  whole  population;  it 
was  gathered  chiefly  from  the  towns  already  settled  in  the  Colony, 
and  with  but  few  emigrants  from  Massachusetts.  Our  immedi- 
ate ancestors  were  religious  men,  and  religion  was  the  ruling  ele- 
ment ;  but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  it  absorbed  all 
others. 

I  shall  not  detain  you  with  an  eulogium  on  Puritan  character. 
This  may  be  found  stereotyped  every  where — not  only  in  books 
and  speeches,  but  much  more  accurately  in  its  influence  and 


ADDRESS. 


effects,  not  in  New  England  alone,  but  throughout  this  nation.  Our 
American  ancestors  were  Englishmen,  descendants  of  the  same 
men,  and  inheritors  of  the  same  principles,  by  which  Magna 
Charta  was  established  at  Runny-mede.  —They  were  Anglo-Sax- 
ons, inspired  with  the  same  spirit  of  independence  which  has 
marked  them  every  where,  and  especially  through  the  long  period 
of  well  defined  English  history,  and  which  is  destined  in  its  fur- 
ther developments  to  give  tone  and  impress  to  the  political  and 
religious  institutions  of  Christendom.  So  much  has  been  said 
and  written  of  the  Puritans,  I  have  sometimes  thought  that 
some  believe  that  they  were  a  distinct  race,  and  perhaps  of  a  dif- 
ferent complexion  and  language  from  their  other  countrymen ; 
whereas,  they  were  only  Englishmen,  generally  of  the  Plebian 
caste,  and  with  more  of  the  energies  and  many  of  the  frailties  and 
imperfections  common  to  humanity.  If  our  first  settlers  here 
cherished  more  firmly  the  religious  elements  of  their  character 
than  any  other,  the  spirit  of  independence  to  which  I  have  alluded 
developed  another — the  love  of  money,  and  an  ingenuity  in  grat- 
ifying it. 

Since  the  extent  and  resources  of  this  County  have  been  better 
known,  the  wonder  is  often  expressed,  how  such  an  unpromising 
region  as  this  County  could  have  invited  a  population  at  first ; 
but  herein  we  misconceive  the  condition  of  our  fathers.  Here, 
as  they  supposed,  was  the  last  land  to  be  explored  and  occupied 
in  their  day.  They  had  no  where  else  to  go,  and  the  growing 
population  of  the  east,  as  well  as  the  barren  soil  of  the  coast,  im- 
pelled them  westward.  Of  the  north,  beyond  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  nothing  was  known  ;  only  Canada  and  the  frozen  regions 
of  Nova  Scotia  had  been  heard  of.  On  the  west  was  another 
Colony,  but  a  different  people ;  and  still  beyond,  was  an  unknown 
realm,  possessed  by  savage  men,  of  whom  New  England  had 
seen  enough  ;  and  not  much  behind  this,  according  to  the  geog- 
raphy of  that  day,  was  the  Western  Ocean,  referred  to  in  the 
Charter.  A  visible  hand  of  Providence  seems  to  have  guided 
our  fathers'  goings.  Had  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna  been 
known  to  them  then,  they  would  but  the  sooner  have  furnished 
the  history  of  the  massacre  of  Wyoming. 

If  there  were  here  the  extensive  and  almost  impenetrable  ever- 
glade of  the  Green- Woods,  the  high  hills  of  Goshen,  Litchfield 


ADDRESS.  31 


and  Cornwall,  and  heavy  forests  every  where — these  were  trifles 
then  in  the  way  of  a  New  England  man's  calculation,  and  had 
been  ever  since  the  people  of  the  May  Flower  and  the  Arabella 
and  their  descendants  had  been  crowding  their  way  back  among 
the  forests.  These,  and  a  thousand  other  obstacles,  were  sur- 
mounted, with  hardly  a  suspicion  that  they  were  obstacles  at  all, 
and  every  township  began  ere  long  to  exhibit  a  well  ordered,  or- 
ganized society. 

This  was  no  missionary  field,  after  the  manner  of  modern  new 
settlements.  Every  little  Colony,  as  it  became  organized  and 
extended  from  town  to  town,  either  took  its  minister  along  with 
it,  or  called  him  soon  after.  He  became  one  with  his  people, 
wedded  to  them  almost  by  sacramental  bonds,  indissoluble.  A 
Primus  inter  pares,  he  settled  on  his  own  domain,  appropriated 
to  his  use  by  the  proprietors  of  every  town,  and  he  cultivated 
with  his  own  hands  his  own  soil,  and  at  his  death  was  laid  down 
among  his  parishioners  and  neighbors  in  the  common  cemetery, 
with  little  of  monumental  extravagance  to  distinguish  his  resting 
place.  The  meeting-house  was  soon  seen  at  the  central  point  of 
each  town,  modestly  elevated  above  surrounding  buildings,  and 
by  its  side  the  school-house,  as  its  nursling  child  or  younger  sis- 
ter, and  the  minister  and  the  master  were  the  oracles  of  each 
community.  The  development  of  the  Christian  man,  spiritual, 
intellectual  and  physical,  was  the  necessary  result  of  such  an  or- 
ganization of  society  as  this. 

The  original  settlers  of  this  County  were  removed  two  Of  three  * 
generations  from  the  first  emigrants  from  England,  and  some  of 
the  more  harsh  peculiarities  of  that  race  may  well  be  supposed, 
ere  this  time,  to  have  become  modified,  or  to  have  subsided  en- 
tirely. If  a  little  of  the  spirit  of  Arch-Bishop  Laud,  transgress- 
ing the  boundaries  of  Realm  and  Church,  had  found  its  way  over 
the  ocean,  and  was  developed  under  a  new  condition  of  society 
here,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  it  was  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
though  none  the  better  for  that,  and  none  the  more  excusable, 
whether  seen  in  Laud  or  Mather — in  a  Royal  Parliament,  or  a 
Colonial  Assembly. 

Less  of  these  peculiarities  appeared  in  Connecticut  than  in 
Massachusetts  ;  and  at  the  late  period  when  this  County  was  set- 
tled, the  sense  of  oppression  inflicted  by  the  mother  country, 


"•_  ADDRESS. 

whether  real  or  fancied,  was  a  Kttle  forgotten,  and  of  course 
neither  Qnakers,  Prayer  Books  nor  Cfcrictmas  were  the  object  of 
penal  legislation.  A  more  tolerant,  and  of  course  a  better  spirit, 
caine  with  our  fathers  into  this  County,  than  had  before  existed 
elsewhere  in  the  Colony,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  it  has  ever  since 
been  producing  here  its  legitimate  effects,  and  in  some  degree  has 
distinguished  the  character  and  the  action  of  Litchfield  County 
throughout  its  entire  history,  as  many  facts  could  be  made  to 
prove. 

Before  the  year  1751,  this  territory  had  been  attached  to  dif- 
ferent Counties — most  of  it  to  the  County  of  Hartford ;  the 
towns  of  Sharon  and  Salisbury  to  the  County  of  Xew  Haven  ; 
and  many  of  the  early  titles  and  of  probate  proceedings  of  several  o  f 
the  towns,  before  their  organization  or  incorporation,  may  be  found 
on  the  records  of  more  early  settled  towns.  The  first  settlements 
of  estates  in  Canaan  are  recorded  in  Woodbury,  and  many  early 
deeds  are  on  record  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  in  Hartford. 

In  1751,  the  condition  of  the  population  of  these  towns  was 
such  as  to  demand  the  organization  of  a  new  County,  and  the  sub- 
jot  was  extensively  discussed  at  the  town  meetings.  As  is  always 
true,  on  such  occasions,  a  diversity  of  opinions  as  well  as  the  or- 
dinary amount  of  excited  feeling  existed,  regarding  the  location 
;  shire  town.  Cornwall  and  Canaan  made  their  claims  and  had 
their  advocates — but  the  chief  contest  was  between  Litchfield 
Goehen.  The  latter  town  was  supposed  to  occupy  the  geo- 
eenter,  and  many  persons  had  settled  there  in  expecta- 
tion that  that  would  become  the  fixed  seat  of  justice,  and,  among 
•3,  Oliver  Wolcott,  afterward  Governor  of  the  State.  But  at 
tfce  October  cession  of  the  General  Court  in  1751,  the  new  County 
was  established  with  Litchfield  as  the  County  Town,  under  the 
of  Litchfield  County. 

County,  associated  with  the  thought  of  one  hundred 
ago  I  A  brief  space  in  a  nation's  history  ;  bat  such  an 
idred  years ! — more  eventful  than  any  other  since  the  intro- 
daetion  of  our  Holy  Religion  into  the  world.  This  name  speaks 
to  us  of  home  and  all  the  hallowed  memories  of  youth  and  years 
beyond  our  reach, — of  our  truant  frolics,  our  school  boy  trials, 
our  youthful  aspirations  and  hopes  ;  and,  perhaps,  of  more  ten- 
der ami  romantic  sympathies ;  and  many  will  recall  the  m : 


ADDRESS.  33 

ings,  and  yet  the  stern  resolves,  with  •which  they  commenced  the 
various  avocations  of  life  in  -which  they  have  since  been  engaged. 
And  from  this  point,  too,  we  look  back  to  ties  which  once  bound 
us  to  parents,  brothers,  companions,  friends — then  strong — now 
sundered !  and  which  have  been  breaking  and  breaking,  until 
many  of  us  find  ourselves  standing,  almost  alone,  amidst  what  a 
few  years  ago  was  an  unborn  generation. 

Lirchfield  County!  Go  where  you  will  through  this  broad 
country,  and  speak  aloud  this  name,  and  you  will  hear  a  response, 
"  That  is  my  own,  my  native  land."  It  will  come  from  some 
whom  you  will  find  in  the  halls  of  Legislation,  in  the  Pulpit,  on 
the  Bench,  at  the  Bar,  by  the  sick  man's  couch,  in  the  marts  of 
Trade,  by  the  Plow,  or  as  wandering  spirits  in  some  of  the  tried 
or  untried  experiments  of  life.  And  sure  I  am,  that  there  is  not 
to  be  found  a  son  of  this  County,  be  his  residence  ever  so  remote, 
who  would  not  feel  humbled  to  learn  that  this  name  was  to  be  no 
longer  heard  among  the  civil  divisions  of  his  native  State. 

The  usual  officers,  made  necessary  by  the  erection  of  the  new 
County,  were  immediately  appointed  by  the  Greneral  Court. 
William  Preston,  Esq.,  of  Woodbury,  was  the  first  Chief  Justice 
of  the  County,  and  his  Associates  were  John  Williams,  Esq.,  of 
Sharon,  Samuel  Canfield,  of  New  Milford,  and  Ebenezer  Marsh, 
of  Litchfield.  Isaac  Baldwin,  Esq.,  was  the  first  Clerk,  and  the 
Sheriff  was  Oliver  Wolcott,  of  whom  I  shall  speak  again. 
The  County  Court,  at  its  first  session  in  December  of  the  same 
year,  appointed  Samuel  Pettibone,  Esq.,  of  G-oshen,  to  be  King's 
ney,  who  was,  within  a  few  years,  succeeded  by  Reynold 
Marvin,  Esq.,  of  this  village,  and  these  two  gentlemen  were  all 
in  this  County,  in  this  capacity,  who  ever  represented  the  King's 
majesty  in  that  administration  of  criminal  justice. 

The  tenure  of  official  place  in  the  early  days  of  the  Common- 
wealth, was  more  permanent  than  since  party  subserviency  has  in 
some  degree  taken  the  place  of  better  qualifications.  The  changes 
upon  the  bench  of  the  County  Court  were  not  frequent.     The 
office  of  Chief  Judge,  from  the  time  of  Judge  Preston  to  the 
of  his  successors,  who  are  now  alive,  have  been  John  Will 
of  Sharon,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Daniel  Sherman,  of  Woodbu: 
Porter,  of  Salisbury,  Aaron  Austin,  of  New  Hartford,  also  a  i 
ber  of  the  Council,  and  Augustus  Pettibone,  of  Norfolk.    I 


34  ADDRESS. 

not  at  this  time  present  a  catalogue  of  Associate  Judges.  It  has 
been  composed  of  the  most  worthy  and  competent  citizens  of  the 
County — gentlemen  of  high  influence  and  respect  in  the  several 
towns  of  their  residence. 

In  the  office  of  Sheriff,  Governor  Wolcott  was  succeeded  by 
Lynde  Lord,  David  Smith,*  John  R.  Landon,  Moses  Seymour, 
Jr.,  and  Ozias  Seymour,  of  this  village,  and  the  successors  of 
these  gentlemen  are  still  surviving. 

Mr.  Marvin  was  succeeded  in  the  office  of  State's  Attorney, 
by  Andrew  Adams,  Tapping  Reeve,  Uriah  Tracy,  Nathaniel 
Smith,  John  Allen,  Uriel  Holmes,  and  Elisha  Sterling,  whose 
successors,  with  a  single  exception,!  still  survive. 

Hon.  Frederick  Wolcott  succeeded  Mr.  Baldwin  in  the  office 
of  Clerk,  and  this  place  he  held,  undisturbed  by  party  influences, 
for  forty  years,  and  until  nearly  the  time  of  his  death  in  1836. 

The  common  Prison  first  erected  was  a  small  wooden  building, 
near  the  late  dwelling  house  of  Roger  Cook,  Esq.,  on  the  north 
side  of  East  street.  This  stood  but  a  few  years,  and  in  its  place 
a  more  commodious  one  was  built,  nearly  on  the  same  foundation. 
The  present  Prison  was  built  in  1812,  and  essentially  improved 
within  a  few  years.  The  first  Court  House  stood  on  the  open 
grounds  a  little  easterly  from  the  West  Park,  and  may  still  be 
seen  in  the  rear  of  the  buildings  on  the  south  side  of  West  street. 
It  was  a  small  building,  but  in  it  were  often  witnessed  some  of  the 
most  able  efforts  of  American  eloquence.  In  this  humble  Temple 
of  Justice,  Hon.  S.  W.  Johnston  of  Stratford,  Edwards  of  New 
Haven,  Reeve,  Tracy,  Allen,  and  the  Smiths  of  this  County,  ex- 
hibited some  of  the  best  essays  of  forensic  power.  The  present 
Court  House  was  erected  in  1798. 

The  early  progress  of  the  County  presents  but  a  few  incidents 
of  sufficient  note  to  retain  a  place  in  its  traditionary  history. 
The  apprehension  of  savage  incursions  had  passed  away,  and  the 
people  were  left  undisturbed  to  carry  out,  to  their  necessary  re- 
sults, what  might  have  been  expected  from  the  spirit  and  enter- 
prise which  brought  them  hither.  The  old  French  War,  as  it  has 


*  This  gentleman  was  the  father  of  Junins  Smith,  LL.  D.,  formerly  a  distinguished  mer- 
chant in  London,  and  one  of  the  projectors  of  Steamship  Ocean  Navigation,  and  now  engaged 
in  the  culture  of  the  Tea  Plant  in  South  Carolina. 

tLeman  Church,  Esq.,  of  Canaan. 


ADDRESS.  35 


since  been  called,  disturbed  them  but  little.  Some  of  the  towns 
in  the  County,  moved  by  a  loyal  impulse,  and  a  legitimate  hatred 
of  France,  as  well  as  hostility  to  Indians  in  its  service,  furnished 
men  and  officers  in  aid  of  some  of  the  expeditions  to  the  northern 
frontier. 

The  pioneers  here  were  agriculturists.  They  came  with  no 
knowledge  or  care  for  any  other  pursuit,  and  looked  for  no  greater 
results  than  the  enjoyment  of  religious  privileges,  the  increase  of 
their  estates  by  removing  the  heavy  forests  and  adding  other 
acres  to  their  original  purchases,  and  with  the  hope,  perhaps,  of 
sending  an  active  boy  to  the  College.  Of  manufactures,  they 
knew  nothing.  The  grist-mill  and  saw-mill,  the  blacksmith  and 
clothier's  shops, — all  as  indispensable  as  the  plow  and  the  axe, — 
they  provided  for  as  among  the  necessaries  of  a  farmer's  life. 

Thus  they  toiled  on,  till  the  hill-sides  and  the  valleys  every 
where  showed  the  fenced  field  and  the  comfortable  dwelling.  The 
spinning  wheel  was  in  every  house,  and  the  loom  in  every  neigh- 
borhood, and  almost  every  article  of  clothing  was  the  product  of 
female  domestic  industry.  Intercourse  with  each  other  was  diffi- 
cult. The  hills  were  steep,  and  the  valleys  miry,  and  the  means 
of  conveyance  confined  to  the  single  horse  with  saddle  and  pillion, 
with  no  other  carriage  than  the  ox-cart  in  summer  and  the  sled  in 
the  winter.  The  deep  winter  snows  often  obstructed  even  the  use 
of  the  sled,  and  then  resort  was  had  to  snow-shoes.  These  were 
made  of  a  light  rim  of  wood  bent  into  the  form  of  an  ox-bow, 
though  smaller,  perforated  and  woven  into  a  net  work  with  thongs 
of  raw-hide,  leather  or  deer  skin,  and  when  attached  to  the  com- 
mon shoe  enabled  the  walker  to  travel  upon  the  surface  of  the 
snow.  Four-wheeled  carriages  were  not  introduced  into  general 
use  until  after  the  Revolution.  Ladies,  old  and  young,  thought  no 
more  of  fatigue  in  performing  long  journeys  over  the  rough  roads 
of  the  County,  on  horseback,  than  the  ladies  of  our  times  in  mak- 
ing trips  by  easy  stages,  in  coaches  or  cars. 

The  County  Town  constituted  a  common  center,  where  the 
leading  men  of  the  County  met  during  the  terms  of  the  Courts, 
and  they  saw  but  little  of  each  other  at  other  times.  The  course 
of  their  business  was  in  different  directions.  The  north-west 
towns  found  their  markets  on  the  Hudson  River — the  southern 
towns  at  Derby  and  New  Haven — and  the  eastern  ones  at  Hart 


36  ADDEESS. 


ford.  In  the  mean  while,  and  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  nearly  every  town  had  its  settled  Pastor,  and 
the  schools  were  every  where  spead  over  the  territory. 

No  manufacturing  interest  was  prevalent  in  the  County  at  first. 
The  policy  and  laws  of  the  mother  country  had  discouraged  this. 
But  the  rich  iron  mine  which  had  been  early  discovered  in  Salis- 
bury, and  the  iron  ore  found  in  Kent,  could  not  lie  neglected. 
Iron  was  indispensable,  and  its  transportation  from  the  coast  al- 
most impracticable.  The  ore  bed  in  Salisbury  had  been  granted 
by  the  Colonial  Assembly  to  Daniel  Bissell  of  Windsor,  as  early 
as  1731,  and  produces  a  better  quality  of  iron  than  any  imported 
from  abroad  or  found  elsewhere  at  home. 

The  manufacture  of  bloomed  iron  in  the  region  of  the  ore,  com- 
menced before  the  organization  of  the  County.  Thomas  Lamb 
erected  a  forge  at  Lime  Rock,  in  Salisbury,  as  early  as  1734, — 
probably  the  first  in  the  Colony.  This  experiment  was  soon  ex- 
tensively followed  in  Salisbury,  Canaan,  Cornwall  and  Kent,  and 
there  were  forges  erected  also  in  Norfolk,  Colebrook  and  Litch- 
field.  The  ore  was  often  transported  from  the  ore  beds  to  the 
forge  in  leathern  sacks,  upon  horses.  Bar  iron  became  here  a 
sort  of  circulating  medium,  and  promissory  notes  were  more  fre- 
quently made  payable  in  iron  than  in  money. 

The  first  Furnace  in  the  Colony  was  built  at  Lakeville,  in  Salis- 
bury, in  1762,  by  John  Hazleton  and  Ethan  Allen  of  Salisbury, 
and  Samuel  Forbes  of  Canaan.  This  property  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Richard  Smith,  an  English  gentleman,  a  little  before  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  Upon  this  event  he  returned  to  England,  and 
the  State  took  possession  of  the  furnace,  and  it  was  employed,  un- 
der the  agency  of  Col.  Joshua  Porter,  in  the  manufacture  of  can- 
non, shells  and  shot,  for  the  use  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the 
country,  and  sometimes  under  the  supervision  of  Governeur  Mor- 
ris and  John  Jay,  agents  of  the  Continental  Congress ;  and  after 
the  war,  the  navy  of  the  United  States  received,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  the  guns  for  its  heaviest  ships,  from  the  same  estab- 
lishment. 

It  will  not  be  any  part  of  my  purpose  to  become  the  Ecclesiasti- 
cal historian  of  the  County.  This  duty  will  be  better  performed 
by  other  pens.  And  yet,  the  true  character  and  condition  of  a 
people  can  not  be  well  understood  without  some  study  of  their  re- 
l-0ious  state. 


ADDRESS.  37 


I  have  already  suggested,  that  there  was  here  a  more  tolerant 
and  better  spirit  than  existed  among  the  first  emigrants  to  Ply- 
mouth and  Massachusetts.  The  churches  were  insulated,  and 
in  a  manner  shut  out  from  the  disturbing  causes  which  had 
agitated  other  portions  of  the  Colony.  I  do  not  learn  from  that 
full  and  faithful  chronicler  of  religious  dissensions,  Dr.  Trumbull, 
that  there  was  in  this  County  so  much  of  the  metaphysical  and 
subtle  in  theology,  as  had  produced  such  bitter  effects  at  an  ear- 
lier time,  in  the  churches  at  Hartford,  New  Haven,  Stratford 
and  Wallingford.  The  Pastors  were  men  of  peace,  who  had 
sought  the  retired  parishes  over  here  in  the  hills  and  valleys,  with- 
out much  pride  of  learning,  and  without  ambitious  views.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  Pastor  here  was  paternal ;  the  eloquence  of  his  ex- 
ample was  more  potent  than  the  eloquence  of  the  pulpit.  It  might 
be  expected,  that  by  such  a  Clergy,  a  deep  and  broad  foundation  of 
future  good  would  be  laid, — a  fixed  Protestant  sentiment  and  its  le- 
gitimate consequence,  independent  opinion  and  energetic  action. 

There  was  here,  also,  very  early,  another  element  which  modi- 
fied and  liberalized  the  temper  of  the  fathers,  who  had  smarted, 
as  they  supposed,  under  the  persecutions  of  an  English  home  and 
English  laws.     A  little  alloy  was  intermixed  in  the  religious 
crucible,  which,  if  it  did  not,  in  the  opinion  of  all,  render  the 
mass  more  precious,  at  least  made  it  more  malleable,  and  better 
fitted  for  practical  use.     There  was  not  in  this  County  an  univer- 
sal dislike  of  the  Church  of  England.     We  were  removed  farther 
back  in  point  of  time,  as  I  have  said,  from  the  original  causes  of 
hostility.  We  were  Englishmen,  boasting  of  English  Common  Law 
as  our  birthright  and  our  inheritance,  and  into  this  was  interwoven 
many  of  the  principles  and  usages  of  English  Ecclesiastical 
polity.     This  respect  for  the  institutions  of  the  mother  country, 
though  long  felt  by  some,  was  first  developed  in  the  College^  and 
extended  sooner  and  more  widely  in  this  County  than  any  where 
else  ;  so  that  congregations  worshiping  with  the  Liturgy  of  the 
English  Church  were  soon  found  in  Woodbury,   Watertown, 
Plymouth,  Harwmton,  Litchfield,  Kent,  Sharon  and  Salisbury, 
and  were  composed  of  men  of  equal  intelligence  and  purity  of 
character  with  their  neighbors  of  the  Congregational  Churches. 
And  ye%  enough  of  traditional  prejudice  still  remained,  uncor- 
rected  by  time  or  impartial  examination,  often  to  subject  the 
3 


38  ADDRESS. 


friends  and  members  of  the  Church  of  England  to  insult  and  in- 
justice. Some  of  it  remains  still,  but  too  little  to  irritate  or  dis- 
turb a  Christian  spirit. 

The  spirit  of  emigration,  that  same  Anglo-Saxon  temperament 
•which  brought  our  ancestors  into  the  County,  and  which  constantly 
pushes  forward  to  the  trial  of  unknown  fortune,  began  its  mani- 
festations before  the  Revolution,  and  sought  its  gratification 
first  in  Vermont.  Vermont  is  the  child  of  this  County.  We 
gave  to  her,  her  first  Governor,  and  three  Governors  besides ;  as 
many  as  three  Senators  in  Congress,  and  also  many  of  her  most 
efficient  founders  and  early  distinguished  citizens, — Chittendens, 
Aliens,  Galushas,  Chipmans,  Skinner  and  others.  The  attitude 
assumed  by  Vermont  in  the  early  stages  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
in  respect  to  Canada  on  the  north  and  the  threatening  States  of 
New  York  and  New  Hampshire  on  either  side,  was  peculiar  and 
delicate,  and  demanded  the  most  adroit  policy  to  secure  her  purpose 
of  independence.  In  her  dilemma,  her  most  sagacious  men  resorted 
to  the  counsels  of  their  old  friends  of  Litchfield  County,  and  it  is 
said  that  her  final  course  was  shaped,  and  her  designs  accomplish- 
ed, by  the  advice  of  a  confidential  council,  assembled  at  the  house 
of  Governor  Wolcott  in  this  village. 

Perhaps  no  community  ever  existed,  with  fewer  causes  of  dis- 
turbance or  discontent  than  were  felt  here,  before  the  complaints 
of  British  exaction  were  heard  from  Boston.  But  the  first  mur- 
murings  from  the  East  excited  our  quiet  population  to  action,  and 
in  nearly  every  town  in  the  County,  meetings  of  sympathy  were 
holden,  and  strong  resolves  adopted,  responsive  to  the  Boston 
complainings.  The  tax  on  tea  and  the  stamp  duty  were  trifles. 
The  people  of  this  County  knew  nothing  of  them,  and  probably 
cared  no  more.  The  principle  of  the  movement  was  deeper — 
more  fundamental;  the  love  of  self-government — "the  glorious 
privilege  of  being  independent!"  The  excitement  was  general 
throughout  the  County.  Individuals  opposed  it,  and  from  differ- 
ent, though  equally  pure  motives.  Some  supposed  resistance  to 
the  laws  to  be  hopeless  at  that  time,  and  advised  to  wait  for  more 
strength  and  resources  ;  others  were  influenced  by  religious  con- 
siderations, just  as  pure  and  as  potent  as  had  influenced  their 
fathers  aforetime ;  others  had  a  deeper  seated  sense  of  loyalty,  and 
the  obligations  of  sworn  allegiance.  But  the  County  was  nearly 


ADDRESS.  39 


unanimous  in  its  resistance  to  British  claims,  and  saw  in  them 
the  commencement  of  a  Colonial  servitude,  degrading,  and  threat- 
ening the  future  progress  of  the  country,  in  its  destined  path  to 
wealth  and  glory.  I  believe  no  individual  of  distinction  in  the 
County  took  arms  against  the  cause  of  the  country. 

Our  remote  position  from  the  scenes  of  strife  and  the  march  of 
armies,  will  not  permit  me  to  speak  to  you  of  battle-fields, 
of  victories  won  or  villages  sacked  any  where  in  our  sight.  We 
were  only  in  the  pathway  between  the  different  wings  of  the 
American  army.  I  have  no  means  of  determining  the  amount  of 
force  in  men  or  money  furnished  by  this  County  in  aid  of  the 
war.  From  the  tone  of  the  votes  and  resolves  passed  at  the  va- 
rious town-meetings,  and  from  the  many  officers  and  men,  Conti- 
nental and  militia,  who  joined  the  army,  I  may  venture  the  asser- 
tion, that  no  county  in  New  England,  of  no  greater  population 
than  this,  gave  more  efficient  aid  in  various  ways,  or  manifested 
by  its  acts,  more  devoted  patriotism. 

Sheldon's  was,  I  believe,  the  first  regiment  of  cavalry  which 
joined  the  army.  It  was  raised  in  this  County  chiefly,  and  com- 
manded by  Col.  Elisha  Sheldon  of  Salisbury.  The  services  of 
this  regiment  have  been  favorably  noticed  by  the  writers  of  that 
day,  and  on  various  occasions  called  forth  the  public  thanks  of 
the  Commander-in-Chief.  Among  other  officers  attached  to  it,  was 
Major  Benjamin  Tallmadge,  afterwards  and  for  many  years  a  dis- 
tinguished merchant  and  gentleman  of  this  village,  and,  for  several 
sessions,  a  valuable  member  of  Congress  in  the  Connecticut  dele- 
gation. Major  Tallmadge  distinguished  himself  by  a  brilliant 
exploit  against  the  enemy  on  Long  Island,  for  which  he  received 
the  public  approbation  of  General  Washington ;  and  through  the 
whole  struggle,  this  officer  proved  himself  a  favorite  with  the  army 
and  the  officers  under  whom  he  served.  Besides  these,  several 
other  officers  of  elevated  as  well  as  subordinate  rank,  were  attached 
to  the  Continental  army,  from  this  County.  Among  them  were 
Col.  Hernan  Swift  of  Cornwall,  Major  Samuel  Elmore  of  Sharon, 
Col.  Seth  Warner  of  Woodbury,  Major  Moses  Seymour  of  Litch- 
field,  Major  John  Webb  of  Canaan,  Capt.  John  Sedgwick  and 
Edward  Rogers  of  Cornwall,  Col.  Blagden  and  Major  Luther 
Stoddard  of  Salisbury,  and  many  others  not  now  recollected. 

Contributions  in  support  of  the  war  were  not  confined  to  the 


40  ADDRESS. 

payment  of  heavy  taxes,  but  voluntary  aid  came  from  associations 
and  individuals  in  every  town.  The  aggregate  can  not  be  com- 
puted,— if  it  could,  it  would  show  an  amount,  which,  rich  as  we 
now  are,  I  think  could  not  be  demanded  of  our  citizens  for  any 
cause  of  patriotism  or  philanthropy  without  murmurs,  and  per- 
haps, resistance. 

Nor  was  the  Patriot  spirit  confined  to  men  and  soldiers, — it 
warmed  the  bosoms  of  wives,  mothers  and  sisters,  in  every  town. 
An  equestrian  statue  of  the  King,  of  gilded  lead,  before  the  war, 
had  stood  upon  the  Bowling  Green  in  New  York.  As  soon  as 
the  news  of  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  reach- 
ed New  York,  this  was  missing.  Ere  long  it  was  found  at  the 
dwelling-house  of  Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott,  in  this  village,  and  in 
time  of  need  was  melted  down  into  the  more  appropriate  shape  of 
forty  thousand  bullets,  by  the  daughters  of  that  gentleman  and 
other  ladies,  and  forwarded  to  the  soldiery  in  the  field.  Other  la- 
dies still,  and  in  other  towns,  were  much  employed  in  making 
blankets  and  garments  for  the  suffering  troops. 

I  have  no  means  of  determining  the  number  of  killed  and 
wounded  soldiers  belonging  to  this  County. 

Mr.  Matthews,  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  was  for 
some  time  detained  in  this  village,  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  it  is  said 
that  his  traveling  trunk,  and  some  parts  of  his  pleasure  carriage, 
still  remain  in  possession  of  the  Seymour  family.  Governor 
Franklin,  the  Royal  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  a  son  of  Dr. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Was  confined  as  a  prisoner  of  war  in  our 
jail  which  was  often  used  to  detain  English  prisoners  as  well  as 
Tories. 

Although  the  treaty  of  peace  brought  peace  to  other  parts  of 
the  State,  it  did  not  bring  it  to  the  whole  of  this  County.  One 
town  was  left, — not  to  the  continued  and  merciless  inroads  of 
British  soldiers  and  savage  Indians,  as  before,  but  to  the  unjust 
oppressions  of  Pennsylvania, — Westmoreland,  better  known  to 
the  readers  of  Indian  tragedy  by  the  name  of  Wyoming.  Its 
history  is  one  of  melancholy  interest.  This  territory  is  in  the 
valley  and  region  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  included  the 
present  flourishing  village  of  Wilkesbarre.  Its  extent  was  as 
broad  as  this  State.  It  was  supposed  to  be  embraced  within  our 
chartered  limits,  and  such  was  the  opinion  of  the  most  eminent 


ADDRESS.  41 

counsel  in  England  and  in  the  Colony.  Under  this  claim,  a 
company  associated  about  the  year  1754,  by  the  name  of  the 
Susquehanna  Company,  and  purchased  the  Indian  title  to  the 
country,  for  two  thousand  pounds,  New  York  currency.  This 
was  a  voluntary  movement, — a  people's  enterprise,  unsanctioned  by 
any  direct  Legislative  act,  but  unforbidden,  and  probably  encour- 
aged. Within  a  few  years,  a  settlement  was  effected  upon  the 
choice  lands  of  the  Susquehanna,  chiefly  by  emigrants  from  the 
counties  of  Windham  and  New  London,  "with  several  from  this 
County,  among  whom  was  John  Franklin  of  Canaan,  the  brother 
of  the  late  Silas  Franklin,  Esq.,  of  that  town,  a  gentleman  whose 
fortune  and  history  were  closely  interwoven  with  the  fortunes  of 
that  colony.  The  Authorities  of  Pennsylvania,  though  claiming 
under  a  later  Charter,  opposed  this  settlement,  and  kept  up  a 
continual  annoyance  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Eng- 
land, and  even  then  sympathized  but  little  with  our  people  there, 
under  the  dreadful  afflictions  which  that  event  brought  upon  them . 
Sad  indeed  was  the  condition  of  the  colonists  of  Wyoming ! — 
persecuted  by  their  Pennsylvania  neighbors,  and  left  defenceless 
to  the  ravages  of  British  troops  and  their  savage  allies !  The 
Legislature  of  this  Colony  recognized  this  interesting  band  of 
its  own  children,  and  incorporated  them  into  a  township,  by 
the  name  of  Westmoreland,  in  1774,  and  annexed  it  to  the 
County  of  Litchfield.  They  would  have  been  protected  from  the 
aggressions  of  Pennsylvania,  if  the  war  of  the  Revolution  had  not 
prevented,  and  the  good  Friends  of  that  Commonwealth  would 
have  been  compelled  to  doff  the  Quaker  a  while,  or  quietly  to 
have  left  our  fellow-citizens  in  peace.  Under  the  protection  of 
their  parent  power,  this  little  colony  now  looked  for  security. 
They  were  a  town  of  the  Connecticut  Colony,  organized  with  Se- 
lectmen and  other  ordinary  Town  Officers,  and  semi-annually  sent 
their  Deputies  to  the  General  Court  at  Hartford  and  New  Ha- 
ven ;  chose  their  Jurors  to  attend  the  Courts  of  this  County,  and 
their  Justices  of  the  Peace  were  magistrates  of  the  County  of 
Litchfield,  and  all  writs  and  process,  served  there,  were  return- 
able to  the  Courts  of  this  County,  and  remain  now  upon  our 
records.  But  their  security  was  transient ;  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution brought  down  upon  them  a  combined  force  t>f  British  Pro- 
vincials and  Tories,  from  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  New 


42  ADDRESS. 

York,  and  a  large  body  of  Indians,  commanded  by  Brant,  a  cele- 
brated chief.  This  Avhole  force  was  directed  by  Col.  John  Butler, 
of  infamous  memory. 

I  have  no  leisure  to  describe,  in  its  details,  the  progress  of  the 
tragedy  of  the  Wyoming  massacre.  Cols.  John  Franklin  and 
Zebulon  Butler  were  conspicuous  in  their  efforts  to  avert  the  sad 
destiny  of  the  citizens.  It  was  in  vain.  The  battle  opened  on 
the  3d  day  of  July,  1778,  and  it  closed  with  the  entire  destruc- 
tion of  the  settlement.  Men,  women  and  children,  whether  in 
arms  or  defenceless,  were  devoted  to  the  bayonet  and  scalping 
knife,  and  such  as  were  so  fortunate  as  to  escape,  were  driven 
away,  houseless  and  homeless,  many  of  them  to  be  dragged  from 
their  hiding  places  to  the  slaughter,  and  others  to  escape  after 
many  perils  by  the  way.  That  massacre  was  without  a  likeness 
in  modern  warfare,  and  a  stain  upon  the  English  character,  for 
which  English  historians  have  found  no  apology. 

"Accursed  Brant !  he  left  of  all  my  tribe 
Nor  man,  nor  child,  nor  any  thing  of  living  birth  ; 
No, —  not  the  dog  that  watch'd  my  household  hearth 
Escaped  that  night,  upon  our  plains, — all  perished  !" 

Men,  maidens,  widowed  mothers  and  helpless  infants,  flying 
from  this  scene  of  death,  are  remembered  by  many  still  living, 
passing  on  foot  and  on  horseback  through  this  County,  back  to 
their  friends  here  and  to  the  eastern  towns.  Such  was  the  fate 
of  a  portion  of  the  citizens  of  our  own  County.  Nine  years  Wy- 
oming had  been  a  part  of  us,  and  after  the  war  was  over,  Penn- 
sylvania renewed  her  claims  and  her  oppressions.  Our  Pilgrim 
fathers  could  recount  no  such  afflictions !  Our  jurisdiction  ceased 
in  1782,  after  a  decision  by  a  Board  of  Commissioners  ;  but  a 
great  portion  of  those  who  had  survived  the  conflict  with  the 
Indians,  gathered  again  around  the  ruins  of  their  former  habita- 
tions, and  still  refused  submission  to  the  claims  of  Pennsylvania. 
Col.  Franklin  was  the  master  spirit  of  resistance,  and  upon  him 
fell  the  weight  of  vengeance.  He  was  arrested,  imprisoned,  and 
condemned  to  death  as  a  traitor.  After  a  long  confinement  in 
jail,  he  was  at  length  released,  and  survived  many  years,  and  was 
a  respectable  and  influential  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania,  from  the  County  of  Luzerne. 


ADDRESS.  43 

The  result  of  the  compromise  of  our  claim  to  the  town  of  West- 
moreland, was  the  acknowledgment,  by  Congress,  of  the  claim  of 
Connecticut  to  the  Western  Reserve,  from  which  has  been  derived 
the  School  Fund  of  the  State. 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  had  ceased,  and  left  us  an  exhausted 
people.  The  extravagant  hopes  of  many  were  disappointed : 
they  felt  the  present  pressure,  but  anticipated  none  of  the  future 
prosperity  and  glory  in  reserve.  This  disappointment,  in  a 
neighboring  State,  had  produced  open  resistance  to  the  laws, — 
rebellion !  It  was  a  contagious  spirit,  and  such  as  municipal 
lines  could  not  confine.  Much  was  feared  from  it  here.  A  spark 
from  that  flame  in  Berkshire  county  had  flown  over  into  Sharon. 
One. Dr.  Hurlbut,  an  emissary  of  Shay's,  visited  that  town,  in 
the  spring  of  1787,  to  enlist  men  in  his  cause.  He  made  some 
impression.  The  General  Assembly  was  then  in  session,  and 
took  efficient  measures  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  treasonable 
contagion.  Col.  Samuel  Canfield,  of  New  Milford,  and  Uriah 
Tracy,  of  this  village,  were  sent  to  suppress  it.  Several  indi- 
viduals were  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  the  jail  of  this  County  ; 
but,  as  the  disturbance  in  the  sister  State  subsided,  the  advo- 
cates of  resistance  to  the  laws  were  disheartened,  the  prosecu- 
tions were  finally  abandoned,  and  these  disciples  of  the  treasona- 
ble doctrine  of  resistance  were  permitted  to  go  at  large,  punished 
enough  by  the  contempt  which  followed  them. 

Although  the  resources  of  our  citizens  had  been  consumed  by 
a  wasting  war  and  a  bankrupt  government,  the  elasticity  of  our 
former  enterprise  was  not  relaxed.  Released,  now,  from  Colonial 
dependence,  and  free  to  act  without  foreign  restrictions,  the  ener- 
gies of  our  citizens  soon  recovered  all  they  had  lost.  A  Consti- 
tution of  Government,  uniting  the  former  Colonies  into  a  great 
nation,  was  proposed  to  the  State  for  adoption ;  and,  in  January, 
1787,  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  several  towns  met  at 
Hartford  to  consider  it.  The  votes  of  the  delegates  from  this 
County,  upon  this  great  question,  stood,  twenty-two  in  the  affirm- 
ative, and  nine  in  the  negative.  The  negative  votes  were  from 
Cornwall,  Norfolk,  and  Sharon.  Harwinton,  New  Hartford,  and 
Torrington  were  divided. 

No  portion  of  the  country  sooner  revived  under  the  new  im- 
pulse, given  by  the  establishment  of  a  National  Constitutional 


44  ADDRESS. 

Government,  than  this  County.  Our  resources  were  varied. 
Our  soil  was  every  where  strong  on  the  hills  and  by  the  streams. 
Various  sections  possessed  their  peculiarities  of  production. 
Wheat  was  a  staple  of  the  western  towns.  Dairy  products  were 
yielded  in  abundance  in  the  northern  and  central  regions  ;  and, 
in  almost  every  location,  every  species  of  grass,  fruit,  and  grain, 
indigenous  to  any  northern  latitude,  by  reasonable  culture,  was 
found  to  flourish.  We  were  rich  in  the  most  useful  mineral  in 
the  world,  and  our  streams  of  purest  water  afforded  privileges 
every  where  for  converting  our  ores  into  iron  and  our  forests  into 
building  materials.  But  we  had  more — that,  without  which,  all 
these  were  worthless ;  we  had  an  industrious,  and  what  was  bet- 
ter, an  economical  and  an  intelligent  yeomanry.  We  had  &  few 
slaves,  to  be  sure;  not  enough  of  these,  nor  enough  of  a  de- 
graded foreign  population  to  render  the  toil  of  our  own  hands,  in 
the  fields,  or  of  our  wives  or  daughters,  in  the  kitchen  or  the 
dairy,  dishonored  or  disgraceful.  Our  people  were  Native  Amer- 
icans !  And  here  is  the  secret  of  our  prosperity  and  progress. 

In  1784  the  first  newspaper  press  was  established  in  this 
County  by  Thomas  Collier,  and  was  continued  under  his  su- 
perintendence for  more  than  twenty  years.  It  was  called  the 
"  Weekly  Monitor."  It  was  a  well  conducted  sheet,  and  it  is 
refreshing  now,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  to  look  through 
its  columns,  as  through  a  glass,  and  see  the  men  of  other  days, 
as  they  have  spoken  and  acted  on  the  same  ground  on  which  we 
stand.  Mr.  Collier  was  an  able  writer,  and  his  editorial  efforts 
would  have  done  honor  to  any  journal.  It  is  a  Litchfield  monitor 
now,  and  whoever  shall  look  over  its  files  will  see,  at  a  glance,  the 
great  changes  which  have  been  introduced,  in  later  days,  into  all 
the  departments  of  business  and  of  social  and  political  life. 

Then,  the  intercourse  between  the  several  towns  in  this  County 
and  the  market  towns  was  slow  and  difficult.  The  Country 
merchants  were  the  great  brokers,  and  stood  between  the  farmer 
and  the  markets.  They  received  all  his  produce  and  supplied  all 
he  wished  to  buy.  The  thrifty  farmer,  on  settlement,  received 
his  annual  balance  from  the  merchant.  This  enabled  him  to 
increase  his  acres.  He  did  not  invest  it  in  stocks  ;  of  these  he 
"knew  nothing,  except  such  as  he  had  seen  attached  as  instruments 
of  punishment,  to  the  whipping  post  in  every  town. 


ADDRESS.  45 


The  merchants,  thus  employed,  almost  all  became  wealthy. 
A  broken  merchant  in  the  County  was  seldom  heard  of.  Among 
the  most  successful  and  respectable  of  these  gentlemen,  whom  I 
now  recollect,  were  Julius  Deming  and  Benjamin  Tallmadge,  of 
this  town  ;  Tallmadge,  of  Warren  ;  Bacon,  of  Woodbury  ;  Lea- 
vitts',  of  Bethlem  and  Washington  ;  Starr,  Norton,  and  Lymans', 
of  Goshen ;  Battel,  of  Norfolk ;  King,  of  Sharon ;  Holley,  of 
Salisbury,  and  Elijah  Boardman,  of  New  Milford,  afterwards  a 
highly  respectable  Senator  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
At  that  time,  Derby  was  the  chief  market  town  for  many  of  the 
merchants  in  the  southern  towns  of  the  County. 

The  age  of  Turnpike  Roads  commenced  about  the  year  1800, 
and  no  portion  of  the  country  was  more  improved  by  them  than 
this  County.  Before  this,  a  journey  through  the  Green  Woods 
was  spoken  of  as  an  exploit, — a  region  now  accommodated  by 
the  most  pleasant  road  in  the  County.  The  roads  constructed, 
about  the  same  time,  from  New  Haven  to  Canaan,  from  Sharon 
to  Goshen,  and  from  Litchfield  to  Hartford,  changed  very  much 
the  aspect  of  the  County  and  its  current  of  business,  and  if  they 
have  not  been  profitable  to  stockholders,  they  have  been  invaluable 
to  the  people. 

The  spur  given  to  agriculture  by  the  wars  following  the  French 
Revolution  was  felt  in  every  thing.  If  our  farmers  have  failed 
in  any  thing,  it  has  been  in  a  proper  appreciation  of  their  own 
calling.  They  have  yielded  a  preference  to  other  employments, 
to  which  they  are  not  entitled.  If  we  are  to  have  an  Aristocracy 
in  this  country,  I  say,  let  the  farmers  and  business  men,  and  not 
our  idlers,  be  our  Princes ! — not  such  as  are  ashamed  of  their 
employments  and  withdraw  their  sons  from  the  field  and  their 
daughters  from  domestic  labor.  I  would  have  no  such  to  rule 
over  me.  But,  in  spite  of  some  such  false  notions,  agriculture 
has  kept  pace  even  with  other  branches  of  industry  in  the  Coun- 
ty, as  the  appearance  of  our  farms  and  the  thrift  of  our  farmers 
attest.  Much  of  this  may  be  attributed  to  an  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety, which  was  formed  here  several  years  ago,  and  has  been  well 
sustained  until  this  time. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  condition  of  manufactures  as  it  was  before 
the  Revolution — limited  to  iron  and  confined  to  the  furnace  in 
Salisbury  and  a  few  forges  in  that  vicinity ;  to  which  may  be 


46  ADDRESS. 

• 

added,  the  manufacture  of  maple  sugar,  to  some  extent  by  the 
farmers  in  some  of  the  towns. 

Even  a  few  years  ago,  this  County  was  not  believed  to  be 
destined  to  become  a  manufacturing  community.  During  the 
Revolutionary  War,  Samuel  Forbes,  Esq.,  commenced  a  most 
important  experiment  in  Canaan — the  manufacture  of  nail  rods. 
Before  this,  nails  were  hammered  out  from  the  bar  iron — a 
slow  and  expensive  process.  There  was  df  slitting-mill  in 
New  Jersey,  in  which  nail  rods  were  made,  but  the  machinery 
was  kept  hidden  from  public  inspection.  Forbes  wished  to  ob- 
tain a  knowledge  of  it,  and  for  this  purpose  employed  an  ingen- 
ious mechanic  and  millwright,  Isaac  Benton,  of  Salisbury. 
Benton,  disguised  as  a  traveling  mendicant,  obtained  admission 
to  the  mill,  and  so  critically,  and  without  suspicion,  marked  the 
machinery  and  its  operation,  as  to  be  able  immediately  to  make 
such  a  model  of  it  as  to  construct  a  mill,  of  the  same  sort,  for 
Forbes.  This  was  the  foundation  of  his  great  fortune  in  after 
life.  He  afterwards  erected  another  slitting-mill  in  Washington, 

o  o          / 

(now  Woodville.)  By  these  he  was  able  to  supply  the  great 
demand  for  this  article.  This  was  a  great  improvement  upon  the 
former  mode  of  nail-making,  but  was  itself  superseded,  some 
years  afterwards,  by  the  introduction  of  cut  nail  machinery. 
Esquire  Forbes,  as  he  was  afterwards  familiarly  called  by  every 
body,  may  justly  be  deemed  the  pioneer  of  the  manufacturing 
interests  in  this  County.  His  efforts  were  confined,  generally, 
to  the  working  of  iron.  His  forge  he  extended,  and  accommo- 
dated to  the  manufacturing  of  anchors,  screws,  and  mill  irons. 
He  introduced  this  branch  of  the  iron  business  into  this  County, 
if  not  into  the  State.  It  was  not  long  after  followed  by  those 
enterprising  manufacturers,  Russell  Hunt  &  Brothers,  at  South 
Canaan,  by  whom  the  largest  anchors  for  the  largest  ships  of  the 
American  Navy  were  made. 

The  manufacture  of  scythes  by  water-power,  was  commenced 
in  this  County  first  at  Winsted,  by  Jenkins  &  Boyd,  in  1794. 
These  enterprising  gentlemen,  with  the  brothers  Rockwell,  soon 
extensively  engaged  in  various  branches  of  the  manufacture  of 
iron  and  steel  in  Winsted  and  that  vicinity,  from  which  originated, 
and  has  grown  up  to  its  present  condition,  one  of  the  most  flour- 
ishing manufacturing  villages  in  the  State. 


ADDRESS.  47 


The  furnace,  in  Salisbury,  continued  for  many  years  in  most 
successful  operation  under  its  active  proprietors,  and  especially 
its  last  owners,  Messrs.  Holley  &  Coffing,  by  whose  energy  and 
success,  the  iron  interest,  in  Salisbury,  has  been  most  essentially 
promoted ;  and  it  has  extended  into  the  towns  of  Canaan,  Corn- 
wall, Sharon,  and  Kent.  Ames'  works,  at  Falls  Village,  are  not 
equalled  by  any  other  in  the  State. 

In  speaking  of  the  iron  interest,  I  cannot  but  allude  again  to 
the  Salisbury  iron  ore,  which  is  found  in  various  localities  in  that 
town.  It  stands  superior  to  any  other  for  the  tenacity  of  the 
iron  which  it  produces,  with  which  the  armories  of  Springfield  and 
Harper's  Ferry  are  supplied,  and  from  which  the  chain  cables 
and  best  anchors  for  the  Navy  are  made.  And  I  am  confident, 
if  the  machinery  of  the  steam  vessels  and  railroad  cars  were  made 
exclusively  from  this  iron,  and  not  from  a  cheaper  and  inferior 
material,  we  should  know  less  of  broken  shafts  and  loss  of  life  in 
our  public  conveyances. 

Paper  was  first  made  in  this  County,  at  the  great  Falls  of  the 
Housatonic,  in  Salisbury,  by  Adam  &  Church,  as  early  as  1787, 
and  soon  after  in  Litchfield.  The  first  carding-machine  erected, 
I  think,  in  this  State,  was  built  at  the  great  falls  in  Canaan, 
about  1802.  Previous  to  this  time,  wool  was  carded  only  by 
females,  at  their  own  firesides. 

A  general  manufacturing  policy  was  suggested  by  the  measures 
of  government,  and  not  long  after  a  more  extensive  experiment 
was  made  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen  cloths  by  the  late  Gov. 
Wolcott,  and  his  brother  Hon.  Frederick  Wolcott  of  this  place, 
than  had  been  made  in  this  County  before  ;  and  although  the  trial 
was  disastrous  to  its  projectors,  it  was  the  parent  of  the  subse- 
quent and  present  prosperity  of  the  village  of  Wolcottville. 

The  same  policy  has  spread  into  almost  every  town  in  the 
County,  and  has  not  only  extended  the  manufacture  of  iron,  from 
a  mouse  trap  to  a  ship's  anchor,  but  has  introduced,  and  is  intro- 
ducing, all  the  various  branches  of  manufactures  pursued  in  this 
country;  and  of  late,  the  elegant  manufacture  of  the  Papier 
Mache.  Plymouth,  New  Hartford,  Norfolk,  Woodbury,  as  well 
as  the  towns  before  mentioned,  have  felt  extensively  the  beneficial 
effects  of  this  modern  industrial  progress,  so  that  our  County  may 
now  beset  down  as  one  of  the  first  manufacturing  Counties  in  the 


48  ADDRESS. 

State ;  and  this  confirms  what  I  have  said,  that  here  are  all  the 
varied  facilities  of  profitable  employment,  which  can  be  found  in 
any  section  or  region  of  this  country.  Our  young  men  need  no 
longer  seek  adventure  and  fortune  elsewhere !  Neither  the  desire 
of  wealth,  nor  the  preservation  of  health  and  life,  should  suggest 
emigration. 

As  soon  as  the  war  was  over,  and  the  Indians  subdued  into 
peace,  our  people  rushed  again  to  Vermont,  anS  to  the  Whites- 
town  and  Genesee  countries,  as  they  were  called  ;  so  that,  in  a 
few  years,  let  a  Litchfield  County  man  go  where  he  would,  be- 
tween the  top  of  the  Green  Mountains  and  Lake  Champlain,  or 
between  TJtica  and  the  Lakes,  and  every  day  he  would  greet  an 
acquaintance  or  citizen  from  his  own  County. 

And  then  followed  the  sale  and  occupation  of  the  Connecticut 
Western  Reserve.  Many  of  its  original  proprietors  were  our 
citizens  ;  and  among  them,  Messrs.  Boardman,  of  New  Milford  ; 
Holmes,  Tallmadge,  and  Wadsworth,  of  Litchfield ;  Starr  and 
Norton,  of  Goshen ;  Canfield,  of  Sharon ;  Johnston,  Church,  and 
Waterman,  of  Salisbury.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  depopula- 
tion was  to  follow.  The  towns  of  Boardman,  Canfield,  Tallmadge, 
Johnson,  Hudson,  and  several  others  on  the  reserve,  were  soon 
filling  up  with  the  best  blood  and  spirit  of  our  County  ;  and  since 
then,  we  have  been  increasing  the  population  of  other  parts  of  the 
States  of  New  York  and  Ohio,  as  well  as  of  Michigan,  Illinois, 
and  Indiana,  so  that  now  there  is  not  one  of  us  who  remain,  who 
has  not  a  parent,  a  brother,  or  a  child,  in  New  York,  Vermont, 
or  the  States  of  the  West.  And  we  believe  that  these  children  of 
our  own  raising,  have  transmitted  the  impress  and  image  of  Litch- 
field County,  to  the  general  condition  of  society  where  they  have 
gone,  and  that  they  have  fixed  there  a  moral  likeness  which  proves 
its  parentage.  This  emigrating  propensity  has  characterized  the 
Saxon  race  in  all  times  of  its  history ;  and  it  is  still  at  work, 
scattering  us  into  every  corner  and  climate,  and  away  to  dig  for 
gold  and  graves  in  the  barrens  of  California !  Notwithstanding 
this  exhausting  process  of  emigration,  our  population  which,  in 
the  year  1800,  was  41,671,  has  increased  to  the  number  of  46,171. 

I  do  not  know  that  before  the  Revolution  there  was  a  public 
Grammar  School  in  the  County.  The  preparatory  studies  of 
young  men,  intended  for  a  collegiate  course,  were  prosecuted 


ADDRESS.  49 

with  private  instructors  —  generally,  the  .Clergy ;  and  this  course 
was  pursued  still  later. 

Among  the  clergymen  of  the  County  most  distinguished  as 
instructors,  and  'unfitting  young  men  for  college,  as  it  was  called, 
were  Rev.  Daniel  Farrand,  of  Canaan,  Ammi  R.  Robbins,  of 
Norfolk,  Judah  Champion,  of  Litchfield,  and  Azel  Backus,  D.  D., 
of  Bethlem.  This  last  named  gentleman  was  afterwards  Presi- 
dent of  Hamilton  College. 

Soon  after  the  war,  Academies  were  instituted,  and  among 
the  first  and  best  of  them  was  the  Morris  Academy  in  the  parish 
of  South  Farms,  in  this  town,  which  was  commenced  in  1790, 
by  James  Morris,  Esq.  Esquire  Morris  was  no  ordinary  man. 
He  was  a  distinguished  graduate  of  Yale  College,  and  an  active 
officer  in  the  Revolutionary  Army.  His  learning  was  varied  and 
practical,  and  under  his  direction  the  Morris  Academy  became 
the  most  noted  public  school  of  the  County,  and  so  continued  for 
many  years.  This  excellent  gentleman  died  in  1820,  aged  68 
years.  An  Academy  at  Sharon,  not  long  after,  acquired  a 
deserved  reputation,  under  such  instructors  as  John  T.  Peters, 
Elisha  Sterling,  and  Barzillai  Slosson.  Many  years  afterwards 
an  Academy  was  conducted  in  Ellsworth  Society,  in  the  same 
town,  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev.  Daniel  Parker,  which 
soon  attained  a  high  reputation. 

Our  relative  position  in  the  State,  and  the  controlling  influence 
of  the  cities,  have  left  us  without  College,  Asylum,  or  Retreats  ; 
but  our  district  schools  have  been  doing  their  proper  work,  so 
that  Judge  Reeve  remarked  while  alive,  that  he  had  never  seen 
but  one  witness  in  Court,  born  in  this  County,  who  could  not 
read.  And  these  schools  have  not  only  made  scholars,  but 
school-masters,  and  these  have  been  among  the  best  of  our 
indigenous  productions,  and  have  found  a  good  market  every 
where.  When  Congress  sat  in  Philadelphia,  a  Litchfield  County 
man  was  seen  driving  a  drove  of  mules  through  the  streets.  A 
North  Carolina  member  congratulated  the  late  Mr.  Tracy  upon 
seeing  so  many  of  his  constituents  that  morning,  and  enquired 
where  they  were  going,  to  which  he  facetiously  replied,  that  they 
were  going  to  North  Carolina  to  keep  school. 

A  new  tone  to  female  education  was  given  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Female  Seminary,  for  the  instruction  of  females  in 


50  ADDRESS. 

this  village,  by  Miss  Sarah  Pierce,  in  1792.  This  was  an  un- 
tried experiment.  Hitherto  the  education  of  young  ladies,  with 
few  exceptions,  had  been  neglected.  The  district  school  had 
limited  their  course  of  studies.  Miss  Pierce  saw  and  regretted 
this,  and  devoted  herself  and  all  of  her  active  life  to  the  mental 
and  moral  culture  of  her  sex.  The  experiment  succeeded 
entirely.  This  Academy  soon  became  the  resort  of  young  ladies 
from  ah1  portions  of  the  country  —  from  the  cities  and  the  towns. 
Then,  the  country  was  preferred,  as  most  suitable  for  female  im- 
provement, away  from  the  frivolities  and  dissipation  of  fashiona- 
ble life.  Now,  a  different,  not  a  better  practice,  prevails.  Many 
of  the  grandmothers  and  mothers  of  the  present  generation  were 
educated  as  well  for  genteel  as  for  useful  life,  in  this  school,  and 
its  influence  upon  female  character  and  accomplishments  was 
great  and  extensive.  It  continued  for  more  than  forty  years, 
and  its  venerable  Principal  and  her  sister  assistant  now  live 
among  us,  the  honored  and  honorable  of  their  sex. 

Before  this,  and  as  early  as  1784,  a  Law  School  was  in- 
stituted in  this  village.  Tapping  Reeve,  then  a  young  lawyer 
from  Long  Island,  who  had  commenced  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession here,  was  its  projector.  It  is  not  known  whether  in  this 
country,  or  any  where,  except  at  the  Inns  of  Court  at  Westmin- 
ster, a  school  for  the  training  of  lawyers  had  been  attempted. 
No  Professorships  of  Law  had  been  introduced  into  American 
Colleges  ;  nor  was  the  Law  treated  as  a  liberal  science. 

Before  this,  the  law  student  served  a  short  clerkship  in  an 
attorney's  office,  —  studied  some  forms  and  little  substance,  and 
had  within  his  reach  but  few  volumes  beyond  Coke's  &  Wood's 
Institutes,  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  Bacon's  Abridgment,  and 
Jacob's  Law  Dictionary ;  and,  when  admitted  to  the  Bar,  was 
better  instructed  in  pleas  in  abatement,  than  in  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  Law.  Before  this,  too,  the  Common  Law,  as  a 
system,  was  imperfectly  understood  here  and  in  our  sister  States. 
Few  lawyers  had  mastered  it.  The  reputation  of  this  institution 
soon  became  as  extensive  as  the  country,  and  young  men  from 
Maine  to  Georgia  sought  to  finish  their  law  studies  here. 

Judge  Reeve  conducted  this  school  alone,  from  its  commence- 
ment until  1798,  when,  having  been  appointed  to  the  Bench  of 
the  Superior  Court,  he  associated  with  him,  as  an  instructor, 


ADDRESS.  51 


James  Gould,  Esq.  These  gentlemen  conducted  the  school 
together  for  several  years,  until  the  advanced  age  of  Judge 
Reeve  admonished  him  to  retire  ;  after  which,  Judge  Gould 
continued  the  school  alone  until  a  few  years  before  his  death. 
It  may  be  said  of  Judge  Reeve,  that  he  first  gave  the  Law  a 
place  among  liberal  studies  in  this  country,  —  that  "  he  found 
it  a  skeleton,  and  clothed  it  with  life,  color,  and  complexion." 
This  school  gave  a  new  impulse  to  legal  learning  and  it  was  felt 
in  the  Jurisprudence  as  well  as  in  the  Legislation  of  all  the 
States. 

A  new  subject  of  study,  not  known  in  any  other  country,  had 
been  presented  to  the  legal  student  here,  —  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  the  Legislation  of  Congress.  Uniformity 
of  interpretation  was  indispensable. 

At  this  institution  students  from  every  State  drank  from  the 
same  fountain,  were  taught  the  same  principles  of  the  Common 
and  Constitutional  Law ;  and  these  principles,  with  the  same 
modes  of  legal  thinking  and  feeling  and  of  administration  were 
disseminated  thoughout  the  entire  country.  More  than  one 
thousand  lawyers  of  the  United  States  were  educated  here,  and 
many  of  them  afterwards  among  the  most  eminent  Jurists  and 
Legislators.  Even  after  Judge  Gould's  connection  with  the 
school,  an  inspection  of  the  catalogue  will  show,  that  from  it 
have  gone  out  among  the  States  of  this  Union,  a  Vice  President 
of  the  United  States,  two  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  forty  Judges  of  the  highest  State  Courts,  thir- 
teen Senators,  and  forty-six  Representatives  in  Congress,  besides 
several  Cabinet  and  Foreign  Ministers.* 


*  LITCHFIELD  LAW  SCHOOL.  —  At  a  late  dinner  of  the  Story  Association  of  the  Cambridge 
Law  School,  the  famous  Litchfield  Law  School  was  adverted  to.  The  whole  passage  will  be 
interesting  to  the  former  pupils  of  that  institution,  and  to  the  friends  of  its  celebrated  teachers. 

Judge  Kent  gave  — 

The  first-born  of  the  law  schools  of  this  country  —  the  Litchfield  Law  School.  The  Boston 
bar  exhibits  its  rich  and  ripened  fruits.  By  them  we  may  judge  of  the  tree  and  declare  it 
good. 

Charles  G.  Loring,  Esq.,  replied.  He  began  with  expressing  his  regret  that  there  was  no 
other  representative  from  the  Litchfield  Law  School  to  respond  to  the  complimentary  but  just 
notice  of  that  institution. 

I  do  not  remember,  said  he,  to  have  ever  been  more  forcibly  reminded  of  my  younger  days, 
than  when  looking  around  upon  our  young  friends  in  the  midst  of  whom  1  stand.  It  recalls 
the  time  when  I,  too,  was  a  student  among  numerous  fellow  students.  It  will,  probably,  be 
news  to  them  and  many  others  here,  that  thirty-eight  years  ago,  which  to  many  here  seems 
a  remote  antiquity,  there  .existed  an  extensive  Law  School  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  at 


52 


ADDRESS. 


I  have  said  that  this  school  gave  a  new  impulse  to  legal  learn- 
ing in  this  country.  Soon  after  its  establishment,  and  not  before, 
reports  of  judicial  decisions  appeared.  Ephraim  Kirby,  Esq., 
an  able  lawyer  of  this  village,  published  the  first  volume  of 
Reports  of  Adjudged  Cases,  in  this  country,  —  a  volume  which 
deserved  and  received  the  approbation  of  the  profession  here 
and  elsewhere.  This  was  soon  followed  by  Reports  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  York. 

Standing  at  this  point  of  time,  and  looking  back  over  the 
events  of  an  hundred  years,  we  would  recall,  not  only  the  scenes 
which  have  transpired,  but  revive  our  recollections  of  the  men 


which  more  than  sixty  students  from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  assembled,  — every  State 
then  in  the  Union,  being  there  represented.  I  joined  it  in  1813,  when  it  was  at  its  zenith,  and 
the  only  prominent  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  land. 

The  recollection  is  as  fresh  as  the  events  of  yesterday,  of  our  passing  along  the  broad 
shaded  streets  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  villages  of  New  England,  with  our  ink- 
stands in  our  hands,  and  our  portfolios  under  our  arms,  to  the  lecture  room  of  Judge  Gould — 
the  last  of  the  Romans,  of  Common  Law  lawyers  ;  the  impersonation  of  its  genius  and 
spirit.  It  was,  indeed,  in  his  eyes,  the  perfection  of  human  reason  —  by  which  he  measured 
every  principle  and  rule  of  action,  and  almost  every  sentiment.  Why,  Sir,  his  highest  visions 
of  poetry  seemed  to  be  in  the  refinement  of  special  pleading  ;  and  to  him,  a  nan  sequitur  in 
logic  was  an  offence  deserving,  at  the  least,  fine  and  imprisonment  —  and  a  repetition  of  it, 
transportation  for  life.  He  was  an  admirable  English  scholar ;  every  word  was  pure  English, 
undefiled,  and  every  sentence  fell  from  his  lips  perfectly  finished,  as  clear,  transparent,  and 
penetrating  as  light,  and  every  rule  and  principle  as  exactly  defined  and  limited  as  the  outline 
of  a  building  against  the  sky.  From  him,  Sir,  we  obtained  clear,  well-defined,  and  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  Common  Law,  and  learned  that  allegiance  to  it  was  the  chief  duty  of  man, 
and  the  power  of  enforcing  it  upon  others  his  highest  attainment.  From  his  lecture  room  we 
pass  to  that  of  the  venerable  Judge  Reeve,  shaded  by  an  aged  elm,  fit  emblem  of  himself.  He 
was,  indeed,  a  most  venerable  man,  in  character  and  appearance  —  his  thick,  gray  hair  parted 
and  falling  in  profusion  upon  his  shoulders,  his  voice  only  a  loud  whisper,  but  distinctly  heard 
by  his  earnestly  attentive  pupils.  He,  too,  was  full  of  legal  learning,  but  invested  the  law 
with  all  the  genial  enthusiasm  and  generous  feelings  and  noble  sentiments  of  a  large  heart 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  descanted  to  us  with  glowing  eloquence  upon  the  sacredness  and 
majesty  of  law.  He  was  distinguished,  Sir,  by  that  appreciation  of  the  gentler  sex  which 
never  fails  to  mark  the  true  man  and  his  teachings  6f  the  law  in  reference  to  their  rights  and 
to  the  domestic  relations,  had  great  influence  in  elerating  and  refining  the  sentiments  of  the 
young  men  who  were  privileged  to  hear  him.  As  illustrative  of  his  feelings  and  manner 
upon  this  subject,  allow  me  to  give  a  specimen.  He  was  discussing  the  legal  relations  of 
married  women ;  he  never  called  them,  however,  by  so  inexpressible  a  name,  but  always 
spoke  of  them  as,  "  the  better  half  of  mankind,"  or  in  some  equallyjust  manner.  When  he 
came  to  the  axiom  that  "  a  married  woman  has  no  will  of  her  own  ;  "  this,  he  said,  was  a 
maxim  of  great  theoretical  importance  fer  the  preservation  of  the  sex  against  the  nndue  influ- 
ence or  coercion  of  the  husband  ;  but,  although  it  was  an  inflexible  maxim,  in  theory,  experi- 
ence taught  us  that  practically  it  was  found  that  they  sometimes  had  wills  of  their  own  — 

MOST  HAPPILY  FOR  US. 

We  left  his  lecture  room.  Sir,  the  very  knight  errants  of  the  law,  burning  to  be  the  defenders 
of  the  right  and  the  avengers  of  the  wrong  ;  and  he  is  no  true  son  of  the  Litchfield  School 
who  has  ever  forgotten  that  lesson.  I  propose,  Sir  • 

The  Memories  of  Judge  Reeve  and  Judge  Gould,  —  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first  founders 
of  a  National  Law  School  in  the  United  States  — who  have  laid  one  of  the  corner  stones  in 
the  foundation  of  true  American  patriotism,  loyalty  to  the  law.  —  Boston  Atlas. 


ADDRESS.  53 


who  have  acted  in  them.  Memory  cannot  raise  the  dead  to  life 
again ;  yet  it  may  bring  back  something  of  their  presence,  — 
shaded  and  dim,  but  almost  real ; —  and  through  the  records  of 
their  times  we  may  hear  them  speak  again.  To  some  of  these 
I  have  made  allusion.  I  would  speak  of  others. 

The  allusion  to  the  Law  School  of  the  County  suggests  to  me 
a  brief  notice,  also,  of  the  legal  profession  here,  and  of  its  most 
distinguished  members,  as  well  as  a  further  allusion  to  others  of 
the  sons  of  Litchficld  County,  distinguished  in  other  professions 
and  employments  of  life.  In  speaking  of  these  I  must  confine 
myself  to  the  memory  of  the  dead.  And  here,  I  feel,  that  I 
am  under  a  restraint,  which,  on  any  other  occasion,  I  would 
resist.  I  feel  this  chain  which  binds  me,  the  more,  as  I  look 
around  on  this  gathering  and  see  some  here,  and  am  reminded 
of  others  —  so  many,  who  have  contributed,  by  splendid  talents 
and  moral  Avorth,  to  make  our  name  a  praise  in  the  land.  As  the 
representative  of  the  County,  I  would  most  gladly  do  them  Irv- 
ing homage  before  you  all.  I  regret  that  I  have  had  so  brief  an 
opportunity  to  make  this  notice  as  perfect  as  it  should  be,  —  a 
favorite  theme,  if  I  could  but  do  it  justice. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  much  of  the  Lawyers  who 
practiced  in  this  territory  before  the  organization  of  the  County 
in  1751.  Samuel  Pcttibone,  Esq.,  of  Goshen,  and  Reynold 
Marvin,  Esq.,  of  Litchfield,  (a  native  of  Lyme,)  are  all  of  whom 
I  can  speak. 

Mr.  Pettibone  lived  to  a  great  age  and  died  in  reduced  cir- 
cumstances, in  1787.  Mr.  Marvin  was  respectable  in  his  pro- 
fession, and  was  King's  Attorney  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 
His  residence  was  at  the  dwelling  of  Dr.  William  Buel,  in  this 
village. 

Among  the  Lawyers  of  the  new  County  who  appeared  in  its 
Courts,  were  Mr.  Thatcher,  of  New  Milford ,  Hezekiah  Thompson 
and  Edward  Hinman,  of  Woodbury,  Mr.  Humphrey,  of  Norfolk, 
John  Canfidd,  of  Sharon,  Andrew  Adams,  of  Litchfield,  Mr. 
Catlin,  of  Harwinton,  and  Joshua  Whitney,  of  Canaan.  Of 
these,  Messrs.  Canfield  and  Adams  became  distinguished  at  the 
Bar  and  in  public  life.  Mr.  Canfield  was  the  son  of  Samuel 
Canfield,  of  ISiew  Milford,  one  of  the  Associate  Judges  of  the 
County.  He  was  appointed  a  member  of  Congress  under  the 
4 


54  ADDRESS. 

Confederation,  but  died  before  he  took  his  seat.  We  can  appre- 
ciate his  character  when  informed  that  he  was  the  chosen  col- 
league of  Johnson,  Ellsworth,  and  Trumbull.  Mr.  Adams  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Marvin  as  State's  Attorney.  He  was  esteemed  an 
eloquent  advocate,  and  his  reputation  at  the  Bar  was  distinguished. 
He  was  well  versed  in  theological  studies,  and  in  the  absence  of 
his  minister,  often  officiated  in  the  pulpit.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  after  the'  Revolution,  became  an 
Associate,  and  then  Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court. 

Before  the  Revolution  there  were  but  few  eminent  lawyers  in 
the  County,  and  professional  gentlemen  from  abroad  attended 
our  courts  and  were  employed  in  the  most  important  causes. 
Among  these  were  Thomas  Seymour,  Esq.,  of  Hartford,  and 
Hon.  Samuel  "W.  Johnson,  of  Stratford,  then  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  Connecticut  Bar.  A  colonial  condition  was,  as  it 
ever  will  be,  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  forensic  talent. 

The  change  in  the  state  of  this  Bar,  after  the  War,  and  espe- 
cially after  the  settlement  of  the  government,  was  sudden  and 
great ;  and,  within  a  few  years  after  this  event,  no  County  in 
the  State  and  but  few  in  other  States,  could  boast  of  a  Bar  more 
distinguished  for  legal  talent  and  high  professional  and  moral 
excellence,  than  this.  Reeve,  Tracy,  Allen,  Kirby,  Strong  of 
Salisbury,  Smith  of  Woodbury,  Smith  and  Canfield,  of  Sharon, 
are  names  which  revive  proud  recollections  among  the  old  men 
of  the  County.  And  while  these  gentlemen  stood  before  our 
courts,  there  came  to  their  company  a  younger  band,  destined, 
with  them,  to  perpetuate  the  high  standing  of  the  profession 
nere  • — Gould,  Sterling,  of  Salisbury ;  Benedict,  Ruggles,  Board- 
man,  Smith,  of  Litchfield ;  Slosson,  Southmayd,  Swan,  Pettibone, 
and  afterward,  Miner,  Williams,  Bacon,  and  others. 

Tapping  Reeve  was  a  native  of  Long  Island,  and  a  distin- 
guished graduate  of  Nassau  Hall,  New  Jersey,  and  a  tutor  in 
that  college.  He  commenced  practice  here  in  1783,  and  was 
one  of  the  most  learned  lawyers  of  the  day  in  which  he  lived. 
He  loved  the  law  as  a  science,  and  studied  it  philosophically. 
He  considered  it  as  the  practical  application  of  religious  princi- 
ple to  the  business  affairs  of  life.  He  wished  to  reduce  it  to  a 
certain,  symmetrical  system  of  moral  truth.  He  did  not  trust 
to  the  inspiration  of  genius  for  eminence,  but  to  the  results  of 


ADDRESS.  55 


profound  and  constant  study,  and  was  never  allured  by  political 
ambition.  I  seem,  even  now,  .to  see  his  calm  and  placid  coun- 
tenance shining  through  his  abundant  locks,  as  he  sat,  poring 
over  his  notes  in  the  lecture  room,  and  to  hear  his  shrill  whisper, 
as  he  stood  when  giving  his  charge  to  the  jury.  He  was  elevated 
to  the  Bench  of  the  Superior  Court  hi  1798,  and  to  the  office  of 
Chief  Justice  in  1804,  and  retired  from  public  life  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years,  and  died  in  1827.  He  published  a  valuable 
treatise  on  Domestic  Relations,  and  another  on  the  Law  of 
Descents. 

Gen.  Uriah  Tracy  was  a  native  of  Norwich,  and  one  of  the 
first  of  the  pupils  of  Judge  Reeve.  As  a  jury  advocate  he 
obtained  a  high  distinction.  His  wit  was  pungent  and  his  pow- 
ers of  oratory  uncommon.  He  was  a  politician,  often  a  mem- 
ber of  our  own  Legislature ;  for  several  years  a  member  of 
Congress,  and  he  died  in  1807,  while  a  member  of  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  in  which  body  he  was  eminently  distin- 
guished. 

Col.  Adonijah  Strong,  the  father  of  the  late  Hon.  Martin 
Strong,  was  unique  in  genius  and  manner,  of  large  professional 
business,  sound  practical  sense,  and  many  anecdotes  of  his  say- 
ings and  doings  are  still  remembered  and  repeated  in  the  County. 

Hon.  Nathaniel  Smith,  of  Woodbury,  a  native  of  Washington, 
commenced  life  under  discouraging  circumstances.  He  had 
neither  fortune  nor  the  prospect  of  any,  nor  early  education,  to 
stimulate  him.  Like  many  other  New  England  boys,  he  fought 
his  way  to  eminence ;  and  eminent  he  was ;  and  I  cannot  tell  by 
what  process  he  became  so.  He,  too,  was  one  of  the  early 
members  of  the  Law  School  here.  He  was  not  a  man  of  many 
books.  He  seemed  to  understand  the  law,  as  did  Mansfield  and 
Marshall,  by  intuition,  and  to  have  acquired  the  power  of  lan- 
guage by  inspiration.  His  was  a  native  eloquence,  yet  chaste, 
and  "  when  unadorned,  adorned  the  most."  I  think  he  Avas  one 
of  the  most  profound  lawyers  and  judges  of  this  country.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Council,  a  member  of  Congress,  and  was 
elevated  to  the  Bench  of  the  Superior  Court  in  1806. 

Hon.  Nathan  Smith  was  a  younger  brother  of  Nathaniel 
Smith,  and  though  born  and  roared  in  this  County,  his  profes 
sional  and  public  life  was  passed  hi  New  Haven  County,  but  he 


56  ADDRESS. 


often  appeared  at  this  Bar.  He  was  less  profound  than  his 
brother,  more  ardent,  and  perhaps  more  effective  as  a  jury  law- 
yer. He  died,  while  a  Senator  in  Congress,  in  1835. 

Hon.  John  Allen  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  instructed 
by  Mr.  Reeve,  and  for  several  years  held  a  commanding  position 
at  this  Bar. 

Hon.  John  Cotton  Smith,  of  Sharon,  was  the  son  of  Rev. 
Cotton  Mather  Smith,  of  that  town.  A  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege and  of  the  Litchfield  Law  School,  he  soon  took  a  prominent 
place  by  the  side  of  Tracy  and  Nathaniel  Smith  at  the  Bar  of 
the  County.  He  was  known  as  a  fluent  speaker,  and  of  easy 
and  graceful  address  ;  he  became  a  popular  advocate.  For 
several  sessions  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  he  was  speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  Congress  he  sustained  an 
enviable  reputation  as  a  presiding  officer.  Upon  retiring  from 
Congress  he  was  soon  placed  upon  the  Bench  of  the  Superior 
Court,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Governor  of 
the  State.  From  this  he  retired,  and  from  public  life,  in  1817. 
The  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  doing  good,  either  as 
President  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  or  in  discharging  the 
duties  of  a  virtuous  citizen  in  his  native  town,  until  his  death  in 
1845. 

Hon.  James  Gould  was  a  native  of  Branford,  a  graduate  and 
a  tutor  of  Yale  College.  He  pursued  his  professional  studies 
with  Judge  Reeve,  arid,  soon  after  coming  to  the  Bar  of  this 
County,  he  became  associated  with  him  as  an  instructor  of  the 
Law  School.  Judge  Gould  was  a  critical  scholar,  and  always 
read  with  his  pen  in  his  hand,  whether  Law  book,  or  books  of 
fiction  or  fancy,  for  which  he  indulged  a  passion.  In  the  more 
abstruse  subjects  of  the  law,  he  was  more  learned  than  Judge 
Reeve,  and,  as  a  lecturer,  more  lucid  and  methodical.  The 
Common  Law  he  had  searched  to  the  bottom,  and  he  knew  it  all — 
its  principles,  and  the  reasons  from  which  they  were  drawn.  As 
an  advocate,  he  was  not  a  man  of  impassioned  eloquence,  but 
clear  and  logical,  employing  language  elegant  and  chaste.  He 
indulged  in  no  wit,  and  seldom  excited  a  laugh,  but  was  very  sure 
to  carry  a  listener  along  with  him  to  bis  conclusions.  With  his 
brethren,  his  intercourse  was  always  courteous,  and  with  his 
younger  ones,  kind  and  affectionate.  He  never  gave  offense.  In 


ADDRESS.  57 

his  arguments,  he  resorted  to  no  artifice,  but  met  the  difficulties 
in  his  way  fully  in  the  face,  and  if  he  could  not  overcome  them, 
he  yielded  without  irritation.  He  was  appointed  an  Associate 
Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  in  1816,  and  retired  from  the  Bench 
to  private  life  soon  after.  Judge  Gould  published  an  able  trea- 
tise on  the  Law  of  Pleading,  in  Avhich  he  was  governed  by  the 
truth  of  Lord  Coke's  saying,  "he  knoweth  not  the  law,  who 
knoweth  not  the  reason  thereof."  His  volume  has  received  flat- 
tering approval  from  the  most  learned  Jurists  in  this  country  and 
England.  Judge  Gould  died  in  1838. 

Noah  B.  Benedict  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Noah  Benedict,  of 
Woodbury,  a  gentleman  of  no  precocity  of  intellect  or  genius, 
and  his  first  appearance  at  the  Bar  did  not  promise  the  eminence 
which  he  afterwards  acquired.  He  studied,  and  the  Law  was  the 
chief  subject  of  his  study.  He  aspired  to  no  higher  place  than 
distinction  in  his  profession.  He  engaged  in  none  of  the  ordinary 
business  transactions  of  society,  and,  as  he  once  told  me,  he  never 
gave  a  promissory  note  in  his  life.  With  such  an  undivided  atten- 
tion to  his  professional  calling,  it  was  not  strange  that  he  should 
reach  a  high  place  at  the  Bar.  And  he  did  reach  it,  and,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  no  man  here  stood  before  him.  His  example 
should  be  a  choice  model  for  young  lawyers. 

Gen.  Elisha  Sterling,  of  Salisbury,  was  a  native  of  Lyme.  No 
one  in- our  profession  was  more  assiduous  in  its  practice  than  this 
gentleman.  His  causes  were  never  neglected  in  their  prepara- 
tion. The  controlling  points  of  every  case  he  discovered  quick, 
and  pressed  both,  in  preparation  and  argument,  with  zeal.  He 
neglected  the  study  of  method  and  system  in  his  arguments,  but, 
when  concluded,  nothing  had  been  omitted. 

Passing  by,  on  this  hurried  occasion,  a  more  particular  notice 
of  the  galaxy  of  Lawyers,  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  I  may  be  in- 
dulged in  paying  an  affectionate  tribute  to  one  or  two,  whose 
familiar  voices  still  seem  sounding  in  our  Court  House. 

Hon.  Jabez  W.  Huntington  earned  his  high  professional  char- 
acter here,  where  he  commenced  and  continued  his  practice  for 
several  years.  He  engaged  in  public  life,  and  returned  to  his  na- 
tive town  of  Norwich.  He  was  elected  to  Congress  ;  afterwards 
he  was  elevated  to  the  Bench  of  the  Superior  Court,  which  place 
he  retained,  until  he  was  appointed  a  Senator  in  Congress,  in 


58  ADDRESS. 

which  position  he  died  in  1847.  Having  been  associated  with 
Judge  Huntington  at  the  Bar  and  on  the  Bench,  I  can  bear  true 
testimony  to  his  superior  abilities  in  both  places. 

Of  my  late  brother,  Leman  Church,  Esq.,  the  proprieties  of 
my  connexion  will  not  permit  me  to  speak.  The  deep  sensation 
produced  at  this  Ear,  and  the  grief  which  tore  the  hearts  of  his 
numerous  friends,  when  he  died,  is  thaonly  eulogy  upon  his  life 
and  character  to  which  I  may  refer. 

I  had  a  young  friend,  upon  whose  opening  prospects  I  looked 
with  anxiety  and  hope.  He  was  of  generous  heart  and  liberal 
hand,  and  stimulated  by  an  honorable  ambition,  which  seemed 
nearly  at  the  point  of  gratification,  when  death  came  for  its  vic- 
tim. This  friend  was  Francis  Bacon,  Esq.,  who  died  in  1849,  at 
the  age  of  30  years. 

Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott,  the  younger,  late  Governor  of  this  State, 
was  also  a  member  of  this  Bar,  and  though  he  engaged  in  public 
life  soon  after  his  admission,  we  are  entitled  to  retain  his  name 
on  our  catalogue.  I  shall  not  speak  now  of  his  life  and  eminent 
services.  They  make  a  prominent  part  of  the  country's  history, 
and  have  been,  within  a  few  years,  faithfully  written  by  his  near 
relative.  He  died  in  1833,  and  I  regret  to  say  that  his  remains 
lie  in  our  grave-yard,  without  a  monument  to  mark  his  resting 
place.  His  bust  has  been  presented,  on  this  occasion,  to  the 
Bar  of  this  County. 

I  make  the  same  claim  to  retain  among  the  names  of  our 
eeparted  brethren,  that  of  Hon.  Frederick  Wolcott,  a  son  of 
the  elder  Gov.  Wolcott,  of  this  village.  He  became  a  member 
of  this  Bar  in  early  life,  and  with  high  prospects  of  professional 
distinction ;  but  he  accepted  the  proffered  offices  of  Clerk  of  the 
Courts  and  Judge  of  Probate  for  this  district,  in  1793,  and  soon 
relinquished  professional  duties.  For  several  years  he  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Council,  under  the  Charter  administra- 
tion. An  intimate  connexion  with  this  gentleman,  both  public  and 
private,  justifies  the  high  opinion  I  have  ever  entertained  of  his 
purity  of  life  and  character,  his  public  spirit,  and  his  frank  and 
open  bearing.  I  never  pass  by  the  venerable  mansion  of  the  Wol- 
cott family,  in  my  daily  walks  about  this  village,  without  recall- 
ing the  stately  form  and  ever  honorable  deportment  of  Frederick 
Wolcott.  The  duties  of  his  official  stations  were  discharged  with 


ADDRESS.  59 

the  entire  approbation  of  the  community  for  many  years,  and 
until  a  short  time  before  his  death,  and  amidst  the  conflicts  and 
ovarturnings  in  the  political  revolutions  of  the  times. 

Roger  and  Richard  Skinner,  were  sons  of  Gen.  Timothy  Skin- 
ner of  this  town,  and  members  of  this  bar.  Roger  commenced 
business  in  this  village,  and  gave  assurance,  by  his  early  talents, 
of  his  future  standing ;  but  he  was  here  in  the  most  bitter  state  of 
Connecticut  politics,  and,  as  he  believed,  was  compelled  to  escape 
from  unmerited  opposition.  He  removed  to  the  State  of  New 
York ;  soon  attained  a  deserved  eminence  in  his  profession,  and 
was  appointed  a  Judge  of  the  United  States  Court,  in  the  North- 
ern District  of  that  State.  Richard  Skinner  removed  to  Ver- 
mont, and  afterwards  became  an  eminent  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court,  and  ultimately  Governor  of  that  State. 

In  the  clerical  profession,  I  have  remarked  before,  that  there 
was  early  manifested  a  disposition  rather  to  be  good  than  great. 
The  clergy  of  this  County  were  nearly  all  educated  men ;  and 
many  of  them  ripe  scholars  and  profound  divines,  and  if  there 
were  not  as  many  here  as  in  some  other  regions,  whose  names 
have  been  transmitted  to  us  as  amcng  the  great  ones  of  New 
England,  it  has  been  because  the  severer  calls  of  parochial  duty, 
and  stinted  means,  and  Christian  graces,  restrained  their  aspira- 
tions after  fame.  Divinity  has  furnished  the  most  common  theme, 
and  employed  the  most  pens.  We  are  all  theologians  in  New 
England. 

Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy,  D.D.,  of  Bethlem,  was  probably  the 
first  and  most  eminent  of  our  writers  on  this  subject.  He  was 
eloquent  and  impressive  as  a  preacher,  as  well  as  learned  and  pro- 
found as  a  scholar  and  writer.  He  published  several  theological 
works  upon  practical  and  controversial  subjects,  besides  occasional 
sermons,  which  are  found  in  the  libraries  of  Divines,  and  have 
been  held  in  high  repute,  not  only  among  the  disciples  of  his  own 
peculiar  opinions,  but  among  others,  as  well  in  Europe  as  in  this 
country ;  and  a  modern  edition  of  them  has  been  recently  pub- 
lished. Dr.  Bellamy  was  the  grandfather  of  the  late  Joseph  H. 
Bellamy,  Esq.,  of  Bethlem,  a  gentleman  of  great  moral  and  pro- 
fessional worth. 

Rev.  Jna.  Edwards  was  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Bellamy  in  his  theological 
studies,  and,  although  not  a  native  of  this  County,  he  resided 


60  ADDRESS. 

among  us  for  several  years,  as  the  first  settled  minister  of  Cole- 
brook,  and  until  he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  Union  Col- 
lege, in  1799.  He  was  the  author  of  several  volumes  of  great 
merit ;  and  among  them,  a  treatise  upor.  the  salvation  of  all  men, 
in  reply  to  Dr.  Chauncey ;  also,  a  dissertation  on  the  liberty  of 
the  will,  in  reply  to  West,  and  observations  on  the  language  of  the 
Stockbridge  Indians. 

Rev.  Chauncey  Lee,  D.  D.,  who  succeede'd  Dr.  Edwards,  as 
minister  in  Colebrook,  was  a  native  of  Salisbury,  and  a  son  of 
Rev.  Jonathan  Lee,  of  that  town.  He  was  educated  for  the  bar, 
and  commenced  practice  in  his  native  town.  This  he  soon  relin- 
quished for  the  clerical  calling.  Very  early  he  published  a  Deci- 
mal Arithmetic,  and  afterwards  a  volume  of  Sermons  on  various 
subjects.  But  his  most  elaborate  work,  and  the  one  most 
esteemed  by  himself,  was  a  poem,  entitled  "  The  Trial  of  Virtue," 
being  a  paraphrase  of  the  book  of  Job.  Dr.  Lee  was  a  gentle- 
man of  some  eccentricities,  but  a  very  learned  divine  and  impres- 
sive preacher. 

Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  a  native  of  Torrington,  and  son  of  the 
venerable  pastor  of  one  of  the  societies  there,  is  entitled  to  a  more 
extended  notice  than  I  am  prepared  on  this  occasion  to  repeat. 
Not  because  he  was  the  ailthor  of  books,  but  the  author  and 
originator  of  liberal  and  extensive  benevolent  effort.  The  noble 
cause  of  Foreign  Missions  in  this  country,  is  deeply  indebted  to 
him  as  one  of  its  most  zealous  and  active  projectors  and  friends. 
Another  of  the  most  splendid  charities  of  any  age  or  country, — 
the  Colonization  Society, — owes  its  existence  to  the  efforts  of  this 
gentleman ;  and  his  name  will  be  cherished  by  the  philanthropists 
of  the  world,  along  with  those  of  Howard  and  Wilberforce. 

Rev.  Horace  Holley,  D.D.,  of  Salisbury,  was  son  of  Mr. 
Luther  Holley,  and  one  of  a  highly  distinguished  and  worthy 
family  of  brothers.  Dr.  Holley  was  first  ordained  pastor  of  a 
Church  and  Society  at  Greenfield,  in  Fairfield  County,  and  was 
one  of  the  successors  of  the  late  Dr.  Dwight,  in  that  parish.  He 
subsequently  removed  to  Boston,  and  became  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  pulpit  orators  among  the  eminent  divines  of  that  metrop- 
olis. He  afterwards  became  President  of  Transylvania  University 
in  Kentucky,  and  died,  while  yet  a  young  man,  on  ship-board, 
when  on  his  return  from  New  Orleans  to  New  England.  I  am  not 


ADDRESS.  61 

informed  that  he  left  any  published  works  behind  him,  except 
sermons  delivered  on  special  occasions.  He  was  my  class-mate 
in  College,  and  I  knew  him  well. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Backus  of  Bethlem,  Rev.  Mr.  Hooker  of  Goshen, 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Porter  of  Washington,  are  remembered  as  among 
the  most  learned  Divines  of  the  County. 

Of  the  Medical  Profession  and  the  Medical  Professors  here,  my 
opportunities  of  information  have  not  been  extensive.  And  yet 
I  have  known  enough  of  them  to  persuade  me  that  a  more  learned 
and  useful  faculty,  has  not  been  found  elsewhere  in  the  State. 
Empiricism  has  always  existed,  and  will  exist ;  and  the  credulity 
of  some  good  men  will  give  it  countenance.  We  depend  upon  a 
learned  medical  influence,  more  than  any  thing  else,  to  save  us 
from  its  death-dealing  results. 

As  early  as  January,  1767,  a  Medical  association  was  formed 
in  this  County,  composed  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  then  in 
practice  here.  Its  object  was  to  establish  rules  of  practice  and 
intercourse  ; — promote  medical  science  by  providing  for  annual 
consultations  and  dissertations,  and  to  protect  the  reputation  of 
the  profession  and  the  health  of  the  community,  from  the  inroads 
of  ignorant  pretenders  to  medical  science.  Among  the  names  of 
the  gentlemen  composing  this  body,  I  see  those  of  Joshua  Porter, 
Lemuel  Wheeler,  Joseph  Perry,  Seth  Bird,  William  Abernethy, 
Samuel  Catlin,  Simeon  Smith,  Cyrus  Marsh,  Ephraim  Gitteau, 
John  Calhoun,  &c.  One  of  the  earliest  physicians  of  the  County 
was  Oliver  Wolcott.  He  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Roger  Wolcott, 
of  Windsor,  a  former  Governor  of  the  Colony.  He  had  served 
as  an  officer  in  the  French  war,  and  settled  himself  in  Goshen 
before  the  organization  of  the  County,  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Whether  he  continued  in  practice  as  a  physician 
after  his  removal  to  this  town  is  not  known  ;  probably,  however, 
his  official  duties  as  Sheriff  prevented  it.  He  was  subsequently 
honored  with  almost  every  official  place  which  a  good  man  would 
covet, — he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  of  the 
Council,  a  Judge  of  Probate,  a  Judge  of  the  County  Court,  a 
Representative  in  Congress,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Governor  of  his  native 
State,  and  mere  than  ah1,  the  father  of  an  excellent  family.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  uncommon  diffidence,  and  dis- 


62  ADDRESS. 


trustful  of  his  own  ability.  His  public  communications  display 
sound  judgment,  and  his  more  confidential  correspondence  a 
warm  affection  and  a  pure  purpose. 

Dr.  Seth  Bird,  of  Litchfield,  probably  held  the  first  place 
among  the  early  physicians  of  the  County.     His  reputation  was 
wide-spread.     For  acuteness  of  discrimination  and  soundness  of 
judgment  he  was  not  excelled. 

Dr.  Joseph  Perry,  of  Woodbury,  was  not  only  eminent  in  his 
profession,  but,  what  was  unusual  in  his  day,  he  excelled  as  a 
belles-lettre  scholar  and  was  a  gentleman  well  read  in  various 
branches  of  science.  Later  generations  produced  their  eminent 
and  accomplished  physicians.  Dr.  Nathaniel  Perry,  son  of  the 
gentleman  just  named ;  Dr.  Daniel  Sheldon,  of  this  town ; 
Drs.  Fowler  of  Washington,  Rockwell  of  Sharon,  Welch  of  Nor- 
folk, Ticknor  of  Salisbury. 

Dr.  Samuel  Woodward,  of  Torrington,  was  not  only  a  physi- 
cian of  high  repute  himself,  but  he  was  almost  literally  a  father 
of  the  faculty.  Dr.  Samuel  B.  Woodward,  late  of  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  Dr.  Henry  Woodward,  late  of  Middletown,  and 
Dr.  Charles  Woodward,  of  the  same  place,  were  his  sons, — born 
and  educated  in  this  County.  Few  men  in  any  community  have 
attained  a  more  eminent  and  useful  position  than  Dr.  Samuel 
B.  Woodward.  Under  his  superintendance  the  Insane  Hospital, 
at  Worcester,  was  established  and  for  many  years  conducted, 
and  now  sustains  a  reputation  equal  with  any  of  the  noble 
charities  of  this  country.  The  Annual  Reports  of  Dr.  Wood- 
ward and  his  other  professional  writings,  and  the  success  of  his 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  have  earned  for  him  a  reputation 
which  will  long  survive. 

Among  the  Surgeons  of  note,  in  earlier  times,  was  Dr.  Samuel 
Catlin,  of  Litchfield,  and  at  a  later  period,  Dr.  Samuel  R.  Gager, 
of  Sharon. 

The  medical  profession  in  this  County  has  produced  some 
writers  of  respectability.  Dr.  Elisha  North  was  for  several 
years  a  physician  of  extensive  practice  in  Goshen,  and  he  after- 
wards removed  to  New  London.  He  published  an  approved 
treatise  on  spotted  fever,  which  extensively  prevailed  in  Goshen 
and  its  vicinity,  while  he  resided  there. 

Dr.  Caleb  Ticknor,  of  Salisbury,  was  brother  of  the  late  ex- 


ADDRESS.  63 


cellcnt  Dr.  Luther  Ticknor,  of  that  town,  and  of  Dr.  Benajah 
Ticknor,  for  many  years  a  surgeon  in  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  ;  and  although  a  young  man  when  he  removed  to 
New  York  City,  about  the  year  1832,  he  rose  rapidly  to  a 
high  place  in  his  profession.  He  published  several  medical 
works,  the  most  popular  of  which  was,  the  Philosophy  of 
Living,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  volumes  of  Harpers'  Family 
Library. 

The  Chipman  family,  a  numerous  brotherhood,  removed  from 
Salisbury  to  Vermont  immediately  after  the  Revolutionary  War ; 
it  produced  eminent  men.  Nathaniel  was  an  officer  of  the  Rev- 
olution. H#  became  Chief  Justice  of  Vermont,  and  a  Senator 
in  Congress.  He  published  a  small  volume  of  Judicial  Reports 
and  a  larger  treatise  upon  the  Principles  of  Goverment.  Daniel 
Chipman,  a  younger  brother  of  this  gentleman,  was  a  very  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Vermont  Bar.  He  was  the  author  of  a  very 
creditable  essay  "  On  the  Law  of  Contracts  "  ;  and  besides  a 
volume  of  Law  Reports,  he  published  the  life  of  his  brother 
Nathaniel,  and  also  the  life  of  Gov.  Thomas  Chittenden. 

Hon.  Ambrose  Spencer,  late  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  was  born  in  Salisbury,  the  son  of  Philip  Spencer, 
Esq.  He  was  prepared  for  his  collegiate  course  under  the 
instruction  of  Rev.  Daniel  Fanand,  of  Canaan  ;  studied  the  law, 
I  believe,  with  Hon.  John  Canfield,  of  Sharon,  whose  daughter 
he  married. 

Hon.  Josiah  S.  Johnston,  late  an  eminent  member  of  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  from  Louisania,  was  a  native  of  the 
same  town.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  John  Johnston,  who  re- 
moved early  to  Kentucky.  His  academical  studies  were  pur- 
sued here. 

Samuel  Moore,  of  Salisbury,  was  a  profound  mathematician 
and  engaged  much  in  the  instruction  of  young  men  in  what  was 
called  the  surveyor's  art.  He  published  a  treatise  on  surveying, 
with  a  table  of  logarithms.  It  was  the  earliest  work  on  that 
branch  of  mathematical  science  published  in  this  country.,  It 
introduced  the  method  of  computing  contents  by  calculation 
entirely,  without  measuring  triangles  by  scale  and  dividers.  It 
was  a  valuable  treatise,  but  was  nearly  superseded  by  a  more 


64  ADDRESS. 


finished  one  by  Rev.  Abel  Flint,  in  which  he  borrowed  much 
from  Moore. 

Ethan  Allen  is  deserving  of  notice  only  for  his  revolutionary 
services,  which  are  matters  of  public  history.  lie  published  a 
narrative  of  his  captivity  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  a  volume  of 
Infidel  Theology.  He  was  a  native  of  this  county  ;  the  town  of 
his  nativity  has  been  a  matter  of  dispute,  but  itris  not  a  question 
worth  solving. 

We  have  had  Poets,  too,  besides  such  as  I  have  mentioned, 
who  deserve  a  remembrance  on  this  occasion. 

Hon.  John  Trumbull,  late  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  the  State,  was  born  in  Watertown,  in  this  County,  in 
which  his  father  was  a  minister.  The  Progress  of  Dulncss,  and 
McFingal,  the  most  admired  of  his  Poems,  were  written  in  early 
life.  They  are  satyrical  productions,  and  for  genuine  wit  have 
not  been  excelled  by  any  modern  effort.  Judge  Trumbull's  ac- 
tive life  was  passed  chiefly  in  Hartford. 

William  Ray  was  a  Salisbury  man,  born  in  1771,  and  while  a 
lad  developed  a  taste  for  poetry,  but  early  destitution  and  mis- 
fortunes pressed  upon  him  and  drove  him  into  the  Navy  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  for  some  time  a  captive  in  Tripoli,  and 
in  1808  he  published  the  Horrors  of  Slavery,  and  in  1821  a 
volume  of  Poems. 

Ebenezer  P.  Mason  was  a  native  of  Washington.  Very  few 
men  gave  more  early  promise  of  literary  and  scientific  distinc- 
tion than  young  Mason.  His  life  and  writings  were  published 
in  1842,  by  Professor  Olmsted,  of  Yale  College. 

Washington  has  been  a  nursery  of  eminent  men,  of  whom  I 
cannot  now  speak  without  violating  my  purpose  of  speaking  of 
the  dead,  and  not  of  the  living. 

Mrs.  Laura  M.  Thurston,  of  Norfolk,  permitted  to  be  pub- 
lished by  her  friends,  several  poetical  pieces  of  uncommon 
sweetness  and  excellence, — the  Paths  of  Life,  the  Green  Hills 
of  my  Father  Land,  and  others. 

There  are  but  few  occasions,  and  these  extreme  ones,  which 
call  out  the  qualifications  for  military  life. 

Gen.  Peter  B.  Porter  was  the  youngest  son  of  Col.  Joshua 
Porter,  of  Salisbury,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  before.  He  was 


ADDRESS.  65 

a  graduate  of  Yale  College  and  pursued  the  study  of  the  law 
where  so  many  of  the  noted  men  of  the  country  have — at  the 
Litchfield  Law  School.  He  was  among  the  early  emigrants 
from  this  County  to  the  Genesee  country.  He  was  soon  called 
to  occupy  places  of  trust  and  power  in  the  State  of  his  adoption. 
He  was  a  member  of  Congress  when  the  project  of  the  Erie 
Canal  was  first  suggested,  and  was  one  who,  with  De  Witt 
Clinton,  originated  that  important  national  work,  and  is  entitled 
to  equal  honor  with  him  for  its  projection.  He  urged  it,  when 
in  Congress,  as  a  national  work,  in  a  speech  of  great  strength, 
and  asked  for  the  aid  of  the  nation.  As  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  he  was  associated  with  Henry  Clay  on  a 
Committee  to  consider  the  causes  of  complaint  against  Great 
Britain,  and  drew  up  the  report  of  that  Committee,  recommend- 
ing the  declaration  of  the  war  of  1812.  He  thus  early  ardently 
espoused  the  cause  of  his  country,  and  stood  by  the  side  of 
Tompkins  and  other  patriots,  in  their  efforts  to  prosecute  that 
war  to  an  honorable  result. 

He  was  then  a  civilian  only ;  but,  impatient  and  mortified  at 
the  ill  success  of  our  arms  upon  the  northern  frontier — his  own 
house  pierced  by  the  enemy's  shot,  on  the  banks  of  the  Niagara 
River — he  threw  off  the  civil  and  assumed  the  military  attitude. 
He  raised  a  regiment  of  ardent  volunteer  troops,  and  at  their 
head,  soon  contributed  to  turn  the  tide  of  success.  His  services 
at  Fort  Erie  and  the  battles  at  the  Falls,  have  been  repeatedly 
told  by  the  writers  of  the  country's  history.  I  will  not  repeat 
them.  So  highly  were  they  esteemed  by  the  general  Government 
and  the  State,  that  thanks  and  medals  were  presented,  and  before 
the  close  of  the  war  he  was  offered  the  chief  command  of  the 
army,  by  the  President.  Under  the  administration  of  the 
younger  Adams  he  was  offered,  and  accepted,  the  place  of 
Secretary  of  War. 

My  time  confines  me  to  the  notice  of  the  most  conspicuous  of 
our  sons,  native  and  adopted ;  but  there  were  others,  in  every 
town,  perhaps  of  equal  merit  but  with  fewer  opportunities  of 
display.  The  list  of  our  members  of  Assembly,  and  of  men 
by  whose  efforts  the  foundations  of  society  were  laid  here,  and 
by  whom  this  County  has  been  brought  from  a  repulsive  region 
of  mountains  and  rocks  to  its  present  condition  of  fertility  and 


66  ADDRESS. 


wealth,  would  show  an  aggregate  of  moral  and  intellectual  worth 
which  no  region,  equal  in  extent,  has  surpassed.* 

And  by  whom  were  all  these  eminent  and  excellent  men  reared 
and  prepared  for  the  stations  which  they  have  occupied  in  society  ? 
By  fathers,  whose  own  hands  have  toiled — by  mothers,  who  were 
the  spinters  of  the  days  in  which  they  lived,  and  who  knew  and 
practised  the  duties  of  the  kitchen  as  well  as  the  parlor,  and  to 
whom  the  music  of  the  spinning-wheel*  and  the  loom  was  more 
necessary  than  that  of  the  piano  and  the  harpsichord. 

The  spirit  of  strict  economy  has  marked  our  progress  from  the 
beginning,  and  by  no  other  could  our  fathers  have  left  to  us  this 
heritage  of  good !  Removed  from  the  profusion,  and  from  what 
is  esteemed  the  higher  liberality  of  city  habits,  our  County  has 
not  fallen  behind  other  kindred  communities  in  encouraging  the 
benevolent  operations  of  these  latter  days. 

A  Missionary  Society,  auxiliary  to  the  Board  of  Commission- 
ers of  Foreign  Missions,  was  established  in  this  County,  in  the 
year  1813,  and  has  been  in  active  operation  since.  This  noble 
charity,  since  its  organization,  has  received  and  paid  over,  as  near 
as  I  can  ascertain,  the  sum  of  about  $125,000.  The  benevolent 
offerings  of  other  denominations — the  Episcopalians,  Methodists, 
and  Baptists,  to  the  purposes  of  their  respective  religious  opera- 
tions, I  have  no  present  means  of  knowing;  that  they  have  been 
equally  liberal,  in  proportion  to  their  means,  with  their  Congrega- 
tional brethren,  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt. 

In  the  year  1817,  the  Foreign  Mission  School  was  established 
in  Cornwall,  with  the  special  object  of  spreading  Christian  truth 
and  the  means  of  civilization  among  the  heathen.  The  origin  of 
this  effort,  if  not  accidental,  was  gradual  in  its  conception  and 
development.  Two  young  natives  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  were, 
by  the  directing,  and  almost  visible  hand  of  Providence,  thrown 
among  us  and  fell  under  the  notice  of  Mr.  Elias  Cornelius,  in 
1815,  then  a  student  in  Yale  College,  and  since  distinguished  as 
a  Divine  and  Philanthropist.  The  names  of  these  young  heathen } 

*  Here  may  be  mentioned  Col.  Charles  Burrall,  of  Canaan  ;  Fiteh,  Nortons,  Lee,  John- 
ston, of  Salisbury  ;  Pettibone,  Battell,  and  Stevens,  of  Norfolk  ;  Hon.  Aaron  Austin,  of 
New  Hartford  ;  Sedgwick,  Burnham,  and  Swift,  of  Cornwall ;  Whittleseys  and  Brinsmade, 
of  Washington  ;  Hales,  Lymans,  and  Norton,  of  Goshen ;  Mills  and  Perry,  of  Kent ;  Bost- 
wick,  Boardmans,  and  Merwin,  of  New  Milford  ;  Pardee,  Kellopg,  and  Jewett,  of  Sharon  ; 
Smith  and  Potter,  of  Plymouth,  and  Catlin,  of  Harwinton  ;  Marsha  and  Seymours,  -if  Litch- 
field  ;  Talmadge,  of  Warren  ;  Rockwells,  of  Colebrook,  and  many  others  in  other  towns. 


ADDRESS.  67 

as  known  among  us,  were  Henry  Obookiah  and  William  Tenoe^ 
These  young  men  were  carefully  instructed  by  Mr.  Cornelius, 
Samuel  J.  Mills,  and  Edwin  Dwight,  with  a  chief  object  of  pre- 
paring them  to  become  Christian  Missionaries  among  their  coun- 
trymen. They  were  soon  after  placed  under  the  care  of  Rev. 
Joel  Harvey,  then  a  Congregational  minister  in  Groshen  ;  at  his 
suggestion,  the  North  Consociation  of  Litchfield  County,  became 
their  patrons.  They  were,  not  long  after,  joined  by  Thomas 
Hopoo,  their  countryman,  and  all  were  placed  under  proper 
instruction  for  the  great  object  designed.  But  a  more  liberal  and 
enlarged  project  was  conceived;  a  Seminary  in  a  Christian  land, 
for  the  instruction  of  the  heathen,  joined  with  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring young  men  here  for  missionary  service  in  heathen  lands. 
It  was  a  splendid  thought,  and  the  American  Board  attempted  its 
consummation. 

Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  Hon.  John  Treadwell,  James  Morris, 
Esq.,  Rev.  Drs.  Beecher  and  Chapin,  with  Messrs.  Harvey  and 
Prentice,  were  authorized  to  devise  and  put  in  operation  such  a 
Seminary,  and  the  result  was,  the  Foreign  Mission  School  at 
Cornwall.  Young  natives  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  from 
China,  Australasia,  and  from  the  Indian  nations  on  this  Conti- 
nent, as  well  as  American  youths,  were  instructed  there.  The 
school  continued  successfully  until  1827.  The  establishment  of 
the  Sandwich  Island  Mission,  was  one  of  the  important  results  of 
this  school. 

Many  years  before  the  modern  movement  in  a  temperance 
reformation  was  suggested,  such  a  project  was  conceived  in  this 
town,  and  encouraged  by  the  most  prominent  men  here.  A  Tem- 
perance Pledge  was  signed  in  May  1789,  repudiating  the  use  of 
distilled  liquors,  by  36  gentlemen ;  and  among  the  names  an- 
nexed to  it,  were  those  of  Julius  Deming,  Benjamin  Tallmadge, 
Uriah  Tracy,  Ephraim  Kirby,  Moses  Seymour,  Daniel  Sheldon, 
Tapping  Reeve,  Frederick  Wolcott,  and  John  Welch — names 
well  known  and  well  remembered  here.  I  believe  the  first  tem- 
perance association  of  modern  date,  in  the  County,  was  formed 
among  the  iron  operatives  at  Mount  Riga,  in  Salisbury.  The 
results  of  this  grand  effort  have  been  as  successful  here  as  else- 
where. If  any  special  cause  has  operated  to  retard  the  final  success 
of  this  charity,  it  has  been  the  strangling,  death-ensuring  embrace 


68  ADDRESS. 

of  party  politicians — the  scathing  curse  of  many  a  good  thing. 
As  long  ago  as  1816,  there  were  distilleries  in  every  town  in  the 
County  ;  and  in  New  Milford,  as  many  as  26,  and  in  the  whole 
County,  169!  and,  besides  these,  there  were  188  retailers  of 
spirits,  who  paid  licenses  under  the  excise  laws  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  amount  of  $3,760.  Whether  there  be  a  distillery 
in  the  County  now,  I  am  not  informed  ;  I  believe  but  very  few. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  trace  the  modifications  of  society  here 
— its  progressive  changes  in  modes  of  opinion  and  consequent 
action.  It  would  lead  me  too  far  from  my  object,  which  has  been 
only  to  speak  of  events,  and  the  men  who  have  been  engaged  in 
them. 

Before  the  Revolution  there  was  little  to  excite.  There  was  a 
common  routine  of  thinking,  which  had  been  followed  for  years — 
somewhat  disturbed,  to  be  sure,  by  what  were  called  "  new  lights" 
in  religion.  But  the  results  of  our  emancipation  from  the  mother 
counb-y  turned  every  thing  into  a  different  channel,  opinions  and 
all.  A  new  impulse  broke  in  upon  the  general  stagnation  of 
mind  which  had  been,  and  made  every  body  speculators  in  morals, 
religion,  politics,  and  every  thing  else.  My  own  memory  runs 
back  to  a  dividing  point  of  time,  when  I  could  see  something  of 
the  old  world  and  new.  Infidel  opinions  came  in  like  a  flood. 
Mr.  Paine's  "  Age  of  Reason,"  the  works  of  Voltaire,  and  other 
Deistical  books,  were  broad  cast,  and  young  men  suddenly  became, 
as  they  thought,  wiser  than  their  fathers  ;  and  even  men  in  high 
places,  among  us  here,  were  suspected  of  infidel  opinions.  At  the 
same  time  came  the  ardent  preachers  of  Mr.  Wesley's  divinity,  who 
were  engaged  in  doing  battle  with  Infidelity  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Calvinistic  theology  on  the  other.  Here  were  antagonistic  forces 
and  influences,  which  introduced  essential  changes,  and  both  have 
been  operating  ever  since.  And  it  would  afford  an  interesting 
subject  of  investigation,  to  trace  these  influences  to  their  results. 
The  Methodist  preachers  first  visited  this  County  about  the  year 
17X7,  and  organized  their  first  classes  in  Salisbury  and  Canaan. 
This  was  their  first  appearance  in  the  State,  and,  I  believe,  in 
New  England.  In  this  County  they  were  received  with  courtesy, 
and  found  many  to  encourage  them  among  those  who  did  not  well 
understand  the  old  divinity. 

I  might  detain  you  in  speaking  of  the  prevalence  and  effects  of 


ADDRESS.  69 


party  spirit  here ;  but  as  this,  as  well  as  denominational  contro- 
versy, is  unpleasant  to  me,  I  forbear.  There  was  a  time,  about 
the  year  1806,  when  this  spirit  was  rife  here,  and  led  to  prosecu- 
tions, fines  and  imprisonment,  and  a  disturbance  of  social  rela- 
tions, which  has  never  since  re-appeared  to  the  same  extent. 

I  need  not  say  any  thing  of  the  present  condition  of  the  County. 
This  you  see  and  know.  Its  Rail  Roads,  penetrating  regions 
not  long  since  supposed  to  be  impenetrable ;  villages  rising  up  in 
the  deep  valleys,  whose  foundations  have  been  hidden  for  nearly 
a  century ;  and  fertility  and  thrift,  where  a  few  years  ago  were 
uncultivated  forests  and  wasting  water-falls. 

Of  what  shall  we  complain?  Is  it  that  we  do  not,  all  of  us, 
make  haste  to  be  rich?  Ah!  is  it  so,  my  brethren?  Is  there 
nothing  but  wealth  which  can  satisfy  a  rational  mind  and  an 
immortal  spirit  ? 

Of  the  future  we  may  indulge  proud  hopes,  while  we  doubt  and 
fear.  Progress  is  the  word  of  modern  theorists,  but  of  doubtful 
import.  Innovation  is  not  always  progress  towards  useful  results. 
Of  this  we,  who  are  old,  believe  we  have  seen  too  much,  within  a 
few  years,  and  fear  much  more  to  come.  Our  County  is  but  a 
small  part  of  a  State  and  Nation,  and  so  our  fate  stands  not 
alone.  We  can  but  look  to  our  political  institutions  as  our 
ultimate  protectors,  and  I  urge  upon  you  all,  my  brethren,  their 
unwavering  support.  Our  Constitution  requires  no  innovating 
process  to  improve  it.  It  demands  of  us  more  than  a  mere  po- 
litical respect  and  preference — almost  a  religious  reverence.  Love 
for  it,  in  all  its  parts,  in  every  word  and  sentence  which  compose 
it,  should  be  interwoven  into  all  our  notions  of  thinking,  speaking 
and  acting.  Disturb  but  one  stone  in  this  great  arch — but  one 
compromise  in  this  holy  covenant — and  the  whole  must  tumble 
into  ruin ! 


MUSIC  BY  THE  WATERVLIET  BAND. 

5 


POEM, 

DELIVERED  AT  LITCHFIELD,   CONN., 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION,  1851 


BT 


REV.    JOHN    P1ERPONT. 


POEM. 


THE  following  Poem  was  then  delivered  by  Rev.  JOHN  PIERPONT,  of 
Medford,  Mass. 


ONE  hundred  times  hath  this  celestial  sphere 

Marked,  on  its  orbit,  a  completed  year, 

Since,  with  a  bandage  over  both  her  eyes, 

And  her  scales  lifted  level  towards  the  skies, 

Her  drawn  sword  waiting  on  her  royal  will, 

Justice  first  took  her  seat  upon  this  hill, 

In  legal  form  her  judgments  to  dispense, 

And  make  her  shield  the  citizen's  defence : — 

Justice,  the  regent  spirit  that  presides 

In  every  hut,  where  love  with  peace  abides  ; 

In  every  shop,  where  thrifty  labor  delves, 

And  piles  his  honest  earnings  on  his  shelves ; 

In  every  church,  whose  preacher  stands  unawed, 

Though  rich  men  frown,  and  no  man  dares  applaud, 

And,  bold  as  Paul,  and  yet  as  Moses  meek, 

Speaks  out  God's  truth,  as  God  would  have  him  speak ; 

In  every  hall,  where  righteous  laws  are  made, 

Or,  of  a  state,  the  sure  foundations  laid ; 

Where  senates  counsel  wisely  for  the  realm, 

Or,  with  true  greatness,  monarchs  hold  the  helm 


74  POEM. 

Of  the  wide  empire  given  to  their  trust ; 
Nay !  where,  in  heaven,  the  Almighty  and  All-Just, 
Over  all  empires  and  all  worlds  supreme, 
Weighs  kings  and  culprits  with  an  even  beam. 

One  hundred  times  hath  Winter,  drear  and  chill, 
lii  his  snow  blanket  wrapped  this  sleeping  hill ! 
One  hundred  times  hath  Spring,  her  naked  feet 
All  red  with  snowbroth  and  dissolving  sleet, 
With  snail  pace,  toiling  up  her  cold  sides,  crept, 
And  drawn  that  blanket  off,  while  yet  she  slept, 
And,  blowing  hard,  to  kindle  up  a  flame, 
Hath  started  out  some  wind  flowers,  e're  June  came : 
One  hundred  times  hath  Summer,  bright  and  brief, 
Robed  in  green  grass,  in  blossom,  and  in  leaf, 
This  and  the  sister  hills,  that,  on  each  side, 
Smile  on  her,  as  do  bride-maids  on  a  bride ; 
And  then,  one  hundred  times,  hath  Autumn  come, 
"  And  that  right  early,"  to  sing  Harvest  Home  ; 
And,  dreamy  Indian  Summer  being  o'er, 
Hath  given  her  back  to  Winter's  arms  once  more. 

One  hundred  years  have  brought  their  bloom  and  fruit, 
Since  "  every  one  who  had  a  cause  or  suit," 
Might  "  come  up  hither  "  and  present  his  claim, 
With  no  misgivings,  that,  whoever  came 
With  a  good  cause,  good  witnesses,  good  men 
Upon  the  bench  as  judges,  and,  again, 
With  twelve  good  honest  jurors ;  if  he  saw 
That  well-fee'd  "  counsel,  learned  in  the  law," 
Had  courage,  after  half  a  dozen  fights, 
Would — stand  an  even  chance  to  get  his  rights. 


POEM.  75 

And  then,  at  last,  the  controversy  o'er, 
The  case  all  settled,  to  be  tried  no  more, 
Those  hundred  years,  as  onward  they  have  swept, 
Have  seen  how  calm  the  litigants  have  slept : — 
Judge,  jury,  counsel,  parties  have  withdrawn, 
And  to  a  higher  bar  together  gone, 
Where  every  right  decree  is  ratified, 
And  every  wrong,  reversed  and  set  aside. 

Those  hundred  years  have  seen  great  changes  here, 
For  changes  come  with  every  circling  year. 
No  little  change  this  very  hill  hath  felt ; 
Time's  patient  eye  can  see  it  slowly  melt, 
With  every  rain ; — see  Bantam  River  take 
Some  of  its  soil  to  fill  up  yonder  lake, 
And,  as  the  wind  sweeps  o'er  it,  see  each  gust 
Take  on  its  wings  a  portion  of  its  dust, 
And  bear  it  off  forever  : — thus  this  hill 
Itself  is  changed ; — nothing  on  earth  stands  still. 
The  earth  itself,  since  from  God's  hand  it  came, 
Hath  never  seen  two  centuries,  the  same. 
Its  Alpine  "  Needles,"  shooting  up,  in  front 
Of  melting  glaciers,  annually  grow  more  blunt ; 
Some  of  their  cragginess  its  crags  have  lost, 
Under  the  power  of  water  and  of  frost. 
Heights  grow  less  high,  with  every  shower,  that  sheds 
Its  softening  influence  on  their  rocky  heads  : 
And,  as  the  rocks,  disintegrating,  throw 
Their  fragments,  crumbling  into  soil,  below, 


76  POEM. 

The  "  water-brooks,  that  run  among  the  hills," 
To  cheer  the  valleys,  and  to  drive  the  mills, 
On  their  way  sea-ward,  bear  the  mountain's  gift, 
The  river's  bed,  or  sunken  plain  to  lift, 
And  push  old  Neptune,  though  he  storm  and  roar, 
Back  from  the  line,  that  marked  his  anqient  shore. 
The  Nile,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Po, 
Bear  thus,  exulting,  as  to  sea  they  go, 
Each  his  own  burden,  to  enrich  his  plain, 
Or  win,  for  man,  new  conquests  from  the  main. 
So,  every  year,  does  this,  our  beauteous  star, 
Borne  round  her  orbit  in  her  viewless  car, 
Her  smiling  face  more  beautiful  display, 
As,  every  year,  dark  forests  melt  away, 
And,  in  their  stead,  glad  husbandmen  behold 
Fields,  now  all  green,  now  ripening  into  gold  ; 
While  those  old  central  fires,  that  ever  glow 
In  the  deep  caverns  of  the  world  below, 
From  age  to  age,  the  fossil  wealth  refine, 
That  lies,  locked  up  in  quarry  and  in  mine, 
In  God's  own  time  to  grope  its  tardy  way, 
Up,  from  eternal  darkness,  into  day ; 
To  bask  in  sunshine,  on  a  mountain's  head, 
To  roll,  with  sands,  along  a  river's  bed, 
To  gush,  for  sick  ones,  in  a  mineral  spring, 
To  blush,  for  fair  ones,  in  a  ruby  ring, 
For  orient  queens  their  radiance  to  throw, 
With  gold  and  silver,  from  a  rich  trousseau, 
To  grace  a  noble,  as  a  star  of  gems, 
For  kings  to  sparkle,  in  their  diadems. 


POEM.    •  77 

So  with  the  dwellers  of  this  changeful  earth ; 
Birth,  growth,  maturity,  decay,  death,  birth, 
In  one  perpetual  circle  roll  along ; 
The  strong  grow  feeble,  and  the  feeble  strong ; 
The  children's  massy  locks  grow  thin  and  gray  ; 
Their  children  take  their  place,  and  "  where  are  they?" 

Thy  fathers,  Litchfield  County,  are  at  rest : 
Thy  children  meet,  to-day,  to  call  thee  blest. 
Honored  and  loved,  as  by  them  all  thou  art, 
They  leave  their  homes,  and  gather  to  thy  heart, 
To  see  once  more  thy  venerable  face, 
Once  more  to  feel  thy  motherly  embrace, 
Each  other's  voice  to  hear,  to  clasp  once  more 
Each  other's  hand,  still  warm,  and  to  implore 
God's  blessing  on  thee,  for  all  coming  time  : — 
Me  have  they  asked  to  bring  a  gift  in  rhyme, 
To  thee,  our  mother  :  cheerfully  I  bring 
The  best  I  have  ; — pray  take  my  offering. 

My  native  County,  from  thy  nursing  breast, 
Young  I  withdrew  ;  unpledged  I  left  my  nest, 
A  modest  mansion,  in  a  sunny  nook, 
Tall  trees  behind  it,  and  a  babbling  brook 
Flowing  in  front :  not  that  I  spurned  the  spot, 
Nor,  good  old  Litchfield,  that  I  loved  thee  not ; 
But  that,  where  broader  fields  before  me  spread, 
With  my  one  talent  I  might  buy  my  bread. 
And  now,  for  more  than  half  the  time  that  fills 
The  century's  circle,  since  upon  thy  hills 


78  POEM. 

Hath  justice,  laying  judgment  to  the  line, 
Made  thee  her  home,  thou  never  hast  been  mine  ; 
So  that,  while  many  a  worthier  son  hast  thou, 
To  wreath  a  garland  for  thine  honored  brow, 
Worthier,  since  having  longer  seen  thy  face, 
Lain  in  thy  lap  and  felt  thy  kind  embrace. 
He  better  knows  thee,  and  might  now  rehearse, 
Our  common  mother's  praise  in  loftier  verse, 
Than  can  the  wandering,  yet  not  wayward  child, 
Upon  whose  face  thou  hast  so  rarely  smiled ; 
None  is  more  happy,  at  thy  knee  to  stand, 
And  lay  his  filial  offering  in  thy  hand, 
Of  all  who  fill  thy  halls,  and  throng  thy  door, 
Who  know  thee  better, — not  who  love  thee  more. 

When,  on  a  day  like  this,  we  come,  dear  mother, 
To  honor  thee,  and  welcome  one  another 
To  the  old  homestead,  nature  bids  us  look, 
To  see  what  names  are  blotted  from  thy  book, 
And  what  remain,  of  those  we  used  to  see 
Honoring  themselves,  and,  in  that,  honoring  thee. 

Myself — a  stranger,  I  can  only  touch 
Upon  a  few, — perhaps  e'en  that's  too  much. 
O'er  once  familiar  names  a  shade  is  thrown, 
And  names  now  honored  are  to  me  unknown  ; 
Those  from  my  memory  I  may  never  blot ; — 
Will  these  forgive  me  if  I  name  them  not  ? 

Thy  Reverend  Champion, — champion  of  the  truth  ;- 
I  see  him  yet,  as  in  my  early  youth ; 
His  outward  man  was  rather  short  than  tall, 
His  wig  was  ample,  though  his  frame  was  small, 


POEM.  79 

Active  his  step,  and  cheerful  was  his  air, 
And  0,  how  free  and  fluent  was  his  prayer ! 
He  sleeps  in  peace  and  honor ;  but  no  son 
Upholds  his  name.     His  followers,  Huntington, 
Beecher,  and  all  who,  since,  have  filled  his  place, 
Are  running  yet,  and  running  well,  their  race. 
Collins,  who  prophesied  ere  Champion  came, 
Has  heirs,  to  uphold  his  venerable  name  ; 
But  other  names — names  honored  more  or  less, 
Known  or  unknown  to  me,  around  me  press  : 
Some  were  familiar  to  my  childish  ear, 
Others  I  knew  not  till  I  saw  them  here  ;* 
A  few  of  them  into  my  verse  I  weave  ; 
The  rest,  to  fate  and  tardier  Fame,  I  leave. 
This  is  demanded  by  the  fleeting  hour ; 
And  over  that,  not  bards  themselves  have  power. 

As  thine  old  Forests  from  thy  hill-sides  fall, 
Thy  Mills  grow  rarer,  and  thou  need'st  them  all. 
Thy  Sawyers  have  withdrawn  to  newer  lands, 
Yet,  here  and  there,  a  Boardman  by  thee  stands ; 
And  with  them,  close  as  any  woodland  tick, 
To  thy  broad  skirts  thy  faithful  Burr-alls  stick. — 

That  thou,  with  comfort  o'er  thy  hills  may'st  ride, 
Some  of  thy  Colts  within  thy  call  abide : 
Thou  ne'er  hast  had  a  Trotter,  that  I  know  ; 
Thine  aged  Gallup  left  thee,  long  ago  : 
Yet  canst  thou  ride — way-wise  and  strong  of  limb, 
Thine  Ambler's  left, — so  trust  thyself  to  him. 

*  On  the  printed  list  of  the  several  Committees  of  Arrangement. 


80  POEM. 

No  Seaman  do  I  find  upon  thy  roll, 
To  take  thy  Northway  towards  the  Arctic  Pole ; 
No  needle  guideth  thy  adventurous  tars  ; 
So  much  the  rather  may'st  thou  thank  thy  Starrs. 

Not  naked  art  thou  by  thy  children  left, 
Nor  of  thy  raiment  shalt  thou  be  bereft.; 
For  though,  as  now,  for  aye  should  keep  aloof, 
From  thee  a  Weaver,  with  his  gorgeous  woof, 
Yet,  hath  the  tide  of  time,  that  knows  no  ebb, 
Brought  for  thy  use  a  Webster  with  a  Webb. 

Some  of  thy  Birds  are  flown,  I  grieve  to  say, 
Scared  by  thy  Fowlers  and  thy  Hunts  away, 
Still  do  thy  Robbins  cheer  thee  with  their  throats, 
And  all  thy  Downs  and  Fenns  are  gladdened  by  their  notes. 
Nor,  by  thy  Hunts  is  all  thy  larger  game 
Chased  from  thy  soil ;  for,  whether  wild  or  tame, 
Unharmed  and  seeking  from  no  foe  to  hide, 
No  arrow  quivering  in  his  bleeding  side, 
When  the  fierce  summer  sun  upon  him  looks, 
Thy  "Hart  still  panteth  by  the  water  brooks." 
Thou  hast  an  Adam, — not  "  the  first,"  I  trow, 
Nor  yet  "  the  last,"  as  any  man  may  know: — 
And,  Mother,  will  thine  Adam  give  me  leave 
To  speak  one  word  of  counsel  to  his  Eve  ? 
'  Tis  simply  this — Whene'er  you're  tempted,  madam,' 
If  you  will  yield,  do  so,  but — don't  tempt  Adam. 

Mother,  I  marvel,  while  thou  claim'st  to  be 
The  very  type  of  pure  democracy, 
Through  the  historian's  and  the  poet's  pen 
Giving  due  honor  to  thy  working  men — 


POEM.  81 

Thy  Fuller,  Carter,  Cutler,  Taylor,  Smith, 

Potter,  and  Cooper,  with  their  kin  and  kith, — 

That  thou  shouldst  dandle,  on  thine  aged  knee, 

The  remnants  of  a  by-gone  royalty  ; 

That  a  whole  "  house  of  Lords  "  thou  shouldst  embrace, 

Nor,  from  thy  Nobles  turn  away  thy  face ; 

Nay,  if  the  truth  must  out,  that  thou  shouldst  cling, 

With  motherly  affection,  to  a  King. 

Mother,  this  hint  from  no  unkindness  springs  ; — 

No  doubt  thou  art  the  better  for  thy  Kings. 

No  mines  of  coal,  with  its  bitumen  fat, 
Sleep  in  thy  breast — thy  granites  tell  us  that ; — 
Yet  have  thy  laboring  Colliers  done  their  part, 
Thy  head  to  enlighten  and  to  warm  thy  heart. 
Their  Sibyl  leaves  upon  the  winds  were  thrown, 
For  others'  benefit,  if  not  their  own. 
Long  since,  they  left  thee; — but  do  not  repine! 
If  others  are  enriched  by  what  was  thine, 
Thou  art,  in  turn,  enriched  at  others'  cost ; 
Thou'st  saved  thy  Bacon,  whate'er  else  is  lost. 

Thy  sunny  slopes  boast  not  their  loaded  vines, 
Nor  laudest  thou  thy  brandies  or  thy  wines  ; 
No  golden  barley  gilds  thy  round  hill-tops, 
Nor  bend  thy  poles  beneath  their  weight  of  hops  ; 
No  corn  of  thine  ferments  in  brewery  vats, 
Nor  foams  for  thee  the  cream  of  murdered  cats,* 


*  On  trial  of  the  action,  "  Taylor  vs.  Delavan,"  in  Albany,  it  was  proved  by  the  defendant 
that  the  water  used  in  the  brewery  of  the  plaintiff,  from  which  issues  so  much  of  the  colebra- 
ted  "  Albany  Ale,"  was  taken  from  a  filthy  pond,  into  which  were  thrown  the  carcasses  of 
cats  and  other  animals. 


82  POEM. 

Bursting  from  bottles  labeled  "  Brown  "  or  "Pale," 

And  sold  and  swallowed  as  the  best  of  ale. 

Still,  when  thou  standest  up  among  thy  peers, 

Thou  need'st  not  blush,  my  County,  for  thy  Beers  ; — 

Not  "  small,"  not  "  ginger,"  not  a  medley  mass, 

With  froth  redundant,  and  explosive  gas, 

But  "  stout "  and  "  strong  "  as  ever  came  to  hand, 

Ne'er  growing  "stale,"  however  long  it  stand, 

And  as  well  "  worked  "  as  any  in  the  land. 

We  once  heard  much,  though  somewhat  less,  of  late, 
Of  dangerous  unions  between  church  and  state. 
"  Stick  to  thy  last,  St.  Crispin,"  was  the  cry ; 
"  Cobble  thy  shoes !  no  other  business  try ! " 
"  Think  ye,"  they  questioned,  "  that  your  team  will  draw, 
If  ye  yoke  up  the  gospel  with  the  law  ? 
The  State  machinery  will  sadly  jar, 
If  one  wheel  drives  the  pulpit  and  the  bar ! " 
Stand  back !  ye  croakers,  we  believe  you  not, 
The  thing  is  tried,  and  now  we  know  what's  what. 
What  danger,  pray,  in  this  machinery  lurks  ? 
How  glib  it  goes  !  ay,  and  how  well  it  works  ! 
No  wheel,  on  other  wheels,  presumes  to  trench, 
Though  a  whole  Church  is  based  upon  the  bench. 

In  the  "  old  school "  of  truth  and  honor  bred, 
Guarding  alike  the  living  and  the  dead, 
Thy  Wolcotts,  grave,  inflexible,  sedate, 
Honoring  at  once  the  nation  and  the  state ; 
Before  us  pass.     The  Treasury  and  the  Bench, 
With  moral  courage  never  known  to  blench, 


POEM.  83 

The  one  adorned  : — the  other  calmly  wore 
The  robe  of  righteousness  laid  up  in  store, 
For  him  who  lives  trust-worthy  to  the  end, 
The  widow's  counselor,  and  the  orphan's  friend. 
Thy  Holleys,  brothers,  shall  they  be  forgot  ? 
Who  shall  be  named,  if  they're  remembered  not  ? 
The  vigorous  off-shoots  from  a  sturdy  stem, 
Where  will  you  find  a  brotherhood  like  them  ? 
Strong  as  the  iron  wherein  their  townsmen  deal, 
Ay,  and  as  true  and  springy  as  the  steel, 
Their  forms  as  manly  as  e'er  trod  a  deck, 
Their  action  graceful  as  a  lily's  neck, 
Their  minds  as  clear  as  lake  ice,  and  as  cold, 
With  hearts  full  grown — of  nature's  manliest  mold, 
A  lustre  on  the  church  and  state  they  shed  ; 
Early  renowned,  and  Oh !  too  early  dead ; 
Two  of  the  brothers  in  earth's  bosom  sleep, 
While  o'er  another's  bones,  rolls  the-  remorseless  deep. 

Those  legal  Titans,  who,  with  earthquake  tread, 
Met  on  this  hill  for  battle,  and  are  dead, 
Each  one  a  host, — all  by  each  other  schooled, — 
Strong,  Adams,  Allen,  Tracy,  Reeve  and  G-ould, 
Kirby,  Holmes,  Slason,  ay,  and  many  a  Smith, 
All  of  them  men  of  marrow  and  of  pith, 
Who  made  illustrious  thy  golden  age, 
Another's  pen  hath  touched, — himself  a  sage, 
More  competent  their  merits  to  rehearse  ; — 
A  theme  adapted  more  to  prose  than  verse  :— 
With  him  they're  left : — no !  not  now  are  those  names 
Entrusted  to  our  keeping, — but  to  Fame's. 


84  POEM. 

Children,  like  these,  hast  thou  no  cause  to  curse  ; 
Nor  they,  in  turn,  their  mother  and  their  nurse. 
While  thou  regard'st  them  with  a  mother's  pride, 
They  owe  thee  much,  nor  be  that  debt  denied. 
Small  claim  to  filial  love  hath  she  in  store, 
Who  gives  her  children  birth,  and  nothing  more. 
In  her  arms  folded,  to  her  bosom  prest, 
They  must  be  nourished  at  her  loving  breast ; 
Taught  pity  by  her  sympathizing  sigh 
Cheered  by  the  light  that  sparkles  in  her  eye, 
Braced  in  their  arms,  as  round  her  neck  they  cling, 
And  in  their  legs,  as  on  her  knees  they  spring, 
Then  taught  to  walk,  bytottling  on  the  floor, 
And  to  get  up,  by  tumbling  out  of  door, 
Till,  by  her  training,  hardy,  but  discreet, 
Having  acquired  the  use  of  hands  and  feet, 
With  something  in  their  heads,  the  little  elves 
Are  turned  adrift,  and  told  to  help  themselves. 
So  do  thy  children,  Litchfield,  owe  to  thee, 
And  thy  hard  treatment,  what  they've  come  to  be  ; — 
A  vigorous  race  from  a  harsh  nursery. 
For,  when  thy  skies  have  smiled,  and  wept,  and  scowled, 
And  thy  winds  cut,  and  sighed,  and  swept,  and  howled, 
And  they  have  borne  the  various  buffeting, 
They've  had  to  bear, — they  can  stand  any  thing. 

So  has  it  been  since  first  the  race  began  ; 
So  must  it  be  : — the  character  of  man, 
Objects  around,  in  nature  or  in  art, 
Do  much  in  moulding — each  performs  its  part. 


POEM.  85 

Mountain,  lake^  forest,  waterfall,  the  sea, 

The  high  or  low  land  where  his  home  may  be, 

His  home  itself, — a  palace  or  a  shed, — 

The  air,  he  breathes,  the  soil  that  gives  him  bread, 

The  stock  he  springs  from,  whether  weak  or  strong, 

His  early  training,  whether  right  or  wrong, 

His  native  climate,  rigorous  or  kind, 

More  or  less  work,  of  muscle  or  of  mind, 

The  state,  the  church,  together  or  alone, 

The  ballot-box,  the  altar  and  the  throne, 

All  help,  the  character  of  man  to  frame, 

Yet  leave  his  nature,  as  from  God  it  came. 

New  England's  air,  her  bleak  and  rocky  hills, 
Her  crystal  springs,  cold  wells,  and  babbling  rills, 
Her  soil,  that  drives  her  children  to  their  work, 
By  this  most  Christian  order, — "  Starve  the  shirk,"* 
Have  not  done  every  thing,  but  have  gone  far, 
To  make  New  England's  children  what  they  are. 
Her  keen  north-westers  force  the  oxygen, 
Fresh  and  condensed,  into  her  growing  men ; 
Her  unshod  boys,  at  day-break,  are  astir, 
To  pick  up  chestnuts,  beaten  from  the  bur 
By  those  north-westers  ;  and  when  falls  the  snow, 
And  they,  no  longer,  can  nut-gathering  go, 
They,  in  the.  snow  find  exercise  and  sport ; 
The  snow-ball  missile,  and  the  snow-ball  fort : 
And,  as  the  battle  rages,  and  cold  shot 
Fly  through  the  air  innocuous,  let  us  not 

*  "  If  any  man  will  not  work,  neitker  let  him  eat.:>— ST.  PAUL. 


86  POEM. 

These  mimic  battles  of  the  boys  condemn  ; 

They  make  the  snow-balls,  and  the  snow-balls  them. 

These  forming  powers  produce  a  race  of  men, 
Not  seen  before,  nor  to  be  seen  again, 
On  the  round  world  ;  a  stirring,  hardy  race, 
Keen,  careful,  daring,  ready  to  embrace 
Peril  for  profit,  —in  each  form,  or  all 
The  forms  encountered  by  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Perils,  that  press  around  the  pioneer, — 
The  fearful  antlers  of  the  hunted  deer, 
The  ambushed  Indian's  arrow,  or  his  slug, 
The  panther's  leap,  or  Bruin's  hearty  hug  ; 
Perils  that  round  the  full-packed  pedler  press, 
Orgin  the  city  or  the  wilderness  ; 
Perils  of  robbers,  perils  on  the  seas, 
Perils  from  heathens,  Tartar  or  Tongese, 
Perils  of  waters,  such  as  those  assail, 
Who  board  an  ice-berg,  or  harpoon  a  whale, 
Perils  that  throng  the  Amazon  or  Nile — 
The  anaconda  or  the  crocodile  ; 
Perils  from  famine,  perils  to  his  neck, 
From  Lynch's  law  or  the  marauder's  deck  ; 
Perils  from  thieves,  while  trading  at  Loo-Choo, 
Of  getting  lost  in  finding  Timbuctoo  ; 
By  the  Spokanes,  of  having  his  head  flatted, 
By  the  Typees,  of  being  kept  and  fatted, 
Or,  by  the  Feejees  to  a  jelly  beaten, 
Or,  by  New  Zealanders,  baked  crisp  and  eaten  ; 
Perils  by  flood  and  fire  ;  and  perils  then, 
Worse  than  all  these — from  his  own  countrymen  : — 


POEM.  87 

These  perils  all,  the  Yankee  will  despise, 
When  he  has — "  speculation  in  his  eyes." 

'T  were  hard,  indeed,  exactly  to  define 
The  Yankee  nation,  by  a  boundary  line  ; 
But,  draw  one  north,  that  on  the  west  shall  run, 
Of  Fairfield,  Litchfield,  Berkshire,  Bennington, 
On,  towards  the  polar  Bear,  till  you  arrive 
At  the  north  parallel  of  forty-five  ; 
Thence  towards  the  rising  sun,  until  you  tread 
On  the  last  rock  fallen  off  from  Quoddy  Head ; 
Between  those  limits,  and  th'  indented  shore, 
Among  whose  crags  th'  Atlantic  billows  roar, 
The  region  lies,  of  which,  if  e'er  bereft, 
The  Yankee  nation  will  have  little  left. 
Here  dwells  a  people — by  their  leave  I  speak — 
Peculiar,  homogeneous,  and  unique, 
With  eyes  wide  open,  and  a  ready  ear, 
Whate'er  is  going  on  to  see  and  hear ; 
Nay,  they  do  say,  the  genuine  Yankee  keeps 
One  eye  half  open,  when  he  soundest  sleeps — 
Industrious,  careful  how  he  spends  his  cash — 
(Though  when  he  pleases  he  can  "cut  a  dash") — 
Quick  at  his  business,  in  the  field  or  shop, 
He'll  traffic  with  you, — buy,  or  sell,  or  "swap;" 
And,  if  you  get  the  better  in  the  "  trade," 
You  earn  your  money,  and  your  fortune's  made. 
Think  you  to  joke  him,  as  you  cross  his  track  ? 
The  chance  is  with  him,  that  he'll  joke  you  back ; 
And,  if  your  shaft  goes  nearer  to  the  spot, 
Than  his,  we'll  dub  you  an  accomplished  shot. 


88  POEM. 

Or,  in  this  wordy  war,  should  it  ensue, 
That  the  laugh  rests  not  upon  him,  but  you, 
And,  feeling  galled  that,  in  a  bout  at  wit, 
He's  given,  and  you  have  got,  the  harder  hit, 
Should  you,  in  wrath,  attempt  to  tweak  his  nose, 
Or  with  your  boot-heel  grind  his  bootless  toes ; 
Or  should  you,  rather,  in  your  fight  enlist 
A  single  barrel,  than  a  double  fist, 
For  either  job, — a  battle  or  a  spat, 
The  Yankee's  ready — if  it  comes  to  that. 
He  loves  his  labor,  as  he  loves  his  life ; 
He  loves  his  neighbor,  and  he  loves  his  wife  : 
And  why  not  love  her  ?  Was  she  not  the  pearl 
Above  all  price,  while  yet  she  was  a  girl  ? 
And,  has  she  not  increased  in  value  since, 
Till,  in  her  love,  he's  richer  than  a  prince  ? 
Not  love  a  Yankee  wife  !  what,  under  Heaven, 
Shall  he  love,  then,  and  hope  to  be  forgiven  ! 
So  fair,  so  faithful,  so  intent  to  please, 
A  "help"  so  "meet"  in  health  or  in  disease, 
A  counselor,  at  once  so  true  and  wise, 
Bound  to  his  heart  by  so  endearing  ties, 
The  cheerful  sharer  of  his  earthly  lot, 
Whether  his  home's  a  palace  or  a  cot, 
Whether  she  glides  her  Turkish  carpet  o'er, 
Or  sweeps,  bare-footed,  her  own  earthen  floor ; 
The  guardian  angel,  who  shall  hold  him  up, 
While  passing  near  the  Tempter's  couch  or  cup  ! — 
Not  love  his  wife,  so  constant,  and  so  true  ! 
Of  all  unfaithful  wives,  how  very  few 


POEM.  89 

Are  there,  or  have  there  been,  who  made  their  bed, 
'  Twixt  Byram  River's  mouth,  and  Quoddy's  head! 

And  then,  such  house-wives  as  these  Yankees  make ; 
What  ean't  they  do  ?    Bread,  pudding,  pastry,  cake, 
Biscuit,  and  buns,  can  they  mould,  roll,  and  bake. 
All  they  o'er  see ;  their  babes,  their  singing  birds, 
Parlor  and  kitchen,  company  and  curds, 
Daughters  and  dairy,  linens,  and  the  lunch 
For  out-door  laborers, — instead  of  punch — 
The  balls  of  butter,  kept  so  sweet  and  cool, 
All  the  boys'  heads,  before  they  go  to  school, 
Their  books,  their  clothes,  their  lesson,  and  the  ball, 
That  she  has  wound  and  covered  for  them — all, 
All  is  o'erseen ! — o'erseen ! — Nay  it  is  done, 
By  these  same  Yankee  wives : — If  you  have  run 
Thus  far  without  one,  towards  your  setting  sun, 
Lose  no  more  time,  my  friend, — go  home  and  speak  for  one ! 

The  Yankee  boy,  before  he's  sent  to  school, 
Well  knows  the  mysteries  of  that  magic  tool, 
The  pocket-knife.     To  that  his  wistful  eye 
Turns,  while  he  hears  his  mother's  lullaby ; 
His  hoarded  cents  he  gladly  gives  to  get  it, 
Then  leaves  no  stone  unturned,  till  he  can  whet  it : 
And,  in  the  education  of  the  lad, 
No  little  part  that  implement  hath  had. 
His  pocket-knife  to  the  young  whittler  brings 
A  growing  knowledge  of  material  things. 
Projectiles,  music,  and  the  sculptor's  art, 
His  chestnut  whistle,  and  his  shingle  dart, 


90  POEM. 

His  elder  pop-gun  with  its  hickory  rod, 

Its  sharp  explosion  and  rebounding  wad, 

His  corn-stalk  fiddle,  and  the  deeper  tone, 

That  murmurs  from  his  pumpkin-leaf  trombone, 

Conspire  to  teach  the  boy.     To  these  succeed 

His  bow,  his  arrow  of  a  feathered  reed, 

His  wind-mill,  raised  the  passing  breeze  to  win, 

His  water-wheel  that  turns  upon  a  pin ; 

Or  if  his  father  lives  upon  the  shore, 

You'll  see  his  ship,  "  beam-ends  "  upon  the  floor, 

Full-rigged,  with  raking  masts,  and  timbers  staunch, 

And  waiting,  near  the  wash-tub,  for  a  launch. 

Thus  by  his  genius  and  his  jack-knife  driven, 

Ee're  long  he'll  solve  you  any  problem  given ; — 

Make  any  gim-crack,  musical  or  mute, 

A  plow,  a  coach,  an  organ  or  a  flute, 

Make  you  a  locomotive  or  a  clock, 

Cut  a  canal,  or  build  a  floating  dock, 

Or  lead  forth  Beauty  from  a  marble  block ; — 

Make  any  thing,  in  short,  for  sea  or  shore, 

From  a  child's  rattle  to  a  Seventy-four  : — 

Make  it,  said  I  ? — Ay,  when  he  undertakes  it 

He'll  make  the  thing,  and  the  machine  that  makes  it. 

And,  when  the  thing  is  made, — whether  it  be 

To  move  on  earth,  in  air,  or  on  the  sea, 

"Whether  on  water,  o'er  the  waves  to  glide, 

Or,  upon  land,  to  roll,  revolve,  or  slide, 

Whether  to  whirl,  or  jar,  to  strike  or  ring, 

Whether  it  be  a  piston  or  a  spring, 


POEM.  91 

Wheel,  pulley,  tube  sonorous,  wood  or  brass, 
The  thing  designed  shall  surely  come  to  pass ; — 
For,  when  his  hand's  upon  it,  you  may  know, 
That  there's  go  in  it,  and  he'll  make  it  go. 

See,  what  has  come  of  this  mercurial  cast 
Of  Yankee  mind,  within  a  century  past ; 

• 

Nay,  within  half  that  time  ; — come,  go  with  me, 

To  such  a  farm-house  as  we  used  to  see, 

Or  may  see  yet,  on  any  of  the  hills, 

That,  with  his  sons,  the  Litchfield  farmer  tills. 

No  wave  of  wizard's  wand,  we  need  to  throw 

Ourselves  back,  half  a  century  ago — 

Let  us  go  in,  then,  friend — sit  you  down  there, 

On  that  board  stool,  or  splinter-bottomed  chair  ; — 

Beside  the  blazing  fire  of  hissing  logs, 

Kept  from  the  hearth-stone  by  cast  iron  dogs. — 

There,  on  her  lowly  seat,  the  housewife  see, 

A  pair  of  hand-cards  pressed  upon  her  knee ; — 

"  Persall  and  Pell,"  upon  the  back  displayed, 

Informs  the  world  by  whom  those  cards  were  made ; — 

A  heap  of  cotton,  lying  by  her  side  ; — 

Cotton  that  her  own  hands  have  washed  and  dried  ; 

And,  as  her  busy  hands  their  task  perform, 

White  as  a  snow-wreath,  in  a  Christmas  storm, 

The  pile  of  rolls  swells  slowly,  as  the  day, 

Wasting  her  patient  spirit  wears  away. 

Then,  when,  at  last,  her  weary  labor  o'er, 

The  raw  material  taken  from  the  floor, 

On  her  left  hand,  and  by  her  magic  sleight 

Laid  loosely  in  the  basket  on  her  right, — 


92  POEM. 

Then  coines  the  thought — who  doth  not  with  her  feel  ? 

"  These  rolls  must  now  be  spun  upon  the  wheel !  " 

The  spuming  wheel !  ne'er  was  that  monster  dumb  1 

Early  and  late,  you  heard  its  doleful  hum  ; 

E'en  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun. 

Early  and  late,  the  weary  woman  spun, 

With  only  this,  to  help  her  bear  the  curse — 

"  A  fearful  looking  for"  of  something  worse. 

Yes  : — for  although  you  may  have  held  it  hard, 

Day  in  and  out,  that  cotton  thus  to  card ; — 

Though  you  might  almost  hold  it  as  a  sin, 

Day  in  and  out  that  cotton  thus  to  spin ; — 

We  must  insist  upon  it,  with  your  leave, 

'T  were  worse,  that  cotton  in  a  loom  to  weave. 

And  could  that  woman,  as  she  sat  so  meek, 

Carding  her  white  rolls, — or  as,  week  by  week, 

Her  spindle's  dull,  premonitory  hums 

Were  heard,  have  failed  to  think  of  spools,  and  thrums  ? 

Have  failed  to  see,  amid  the  gathering  gloom, 

The  reed  and  treadles  of  the  approaching  loom  ? 

Let  us  be  just.     That  true  devoted  dame — 
We  need  not  name  her  here,  nor  fear  to  name 
Her  labor  lay  in  no  ignoble  line  : 
She  may  have  been  your  mother ; — she  was  mine — 
Let  us  be  just ; — that  faithful  woman  had 
One  thought,  amidst  her  toils,  to  make  her  glad. 
Her  mother's  lot,  compared  with  hers,  was  hard  : — 
Her  mother  had  no  cotton  wool,  to  card  ; 
And,  to  her  mother's  lot  it  never  fell, 
To  use  the  cards,  made  by  Persall  and  Pell. 


POEM.  93 

Her  mother's  wheel — it  may  have  been  as  big 

As  was  her  own, — it  was  not,  yet,  so  trig : — 

She'd  seen  such  progress,  in  the  arts  of  life, 

As  much  to  aid  the  mother  and  the  wife, 

Where'er  the  husband  or  the  child  might  roam, 

In  making,  for  them  both,  a  happy  home. 
0,  had  that  house-wife  as,  fatigued  with  toil, 

She  sat  and  watched  to  see  the  kettle  boil, 

For  evening  tea,  observed  the  iron  crown 

Of  her  tea-kettle  bobble  up  and  down, 

And  seen  the  vapor,  as  it  issued  out, 

Snow-white,  and  hissing,  from  the  heated  snout ; 

Wreathe  itself  up,  all  spirit-like  and  warm, 

Into  the  semblance  of  an  angel  form ; 

Seen  it  unfold  its  wings,  and  heard  it  say — 

"  Woman,  fear  not,  for  thou  shalt  see  the  day, 

"  When  I,  yes  I,  the  vapor  that  I  seem, 

"  Of  fire  and  water  born,  and  baptized  Steam, 

"  Will  save  you  all  this  labor :  I  will  gin 

"  Your  cotton  first, — then  will  I  card  and  spin, 

"  Reel,  wash,  dry,  spool  the  filling,  size  the  warp  ; 

"  Nay  if  with  both  your  eyes  you  look  out  sharp, 

"  You'll  see  me  fling  it  so  that  both  your  eyes 

"  Shall  fail  to  see  the  shuttle,  as  it  flies. 

"  And,  as  the  shuttle  shoots,  the  reed  shall  strike  : — 

"  I'll  drive  them  both,  and  drive  them  both  alike, 

"  And,  when  the  web  is  through  the  loom,  by  dint 

"  Of  my  own  potrer,  I'll  calender  and  print ! 

"  Ay,  madam,  through  these  labors  will  I  go, 

"  And  give  your  daughters  printed  calico, 


94  POEM. 

"  For  less  than  half  the  money,  by  the  yard, 

"  Now  paid,  per  pound,  for  cotton,  that  you  card. 

"  Nay,  ma'am,  that  boy,  who,  as  I  tell  you  this, 

"  Hears,  in  my  voice  nought  but  the  kettle's  hiss, — 

"That  boy, — by  spinning,  from  his  towy  head, 

"  And  reeling  off  lines  about  cotton  thread, 

"  Shall  buy  more  cotton  shirting,  in  one  even, 

"  Than  you  can  card  and  spin,  this  side  of  heaven  "  : — 

Had  the  Steam  Spirit  then  and  thus  addressed 
Her  who  loved  me, — whom  I  loved  first  and  best, 
Would  she  not,  starting  up,  have  "  screamed  a  scream," 
And  cried — "  I  know  thee,  thou  foul  spirit  of  steam  ! 
"  I  see  thou  risest  from  the  fires  below  : — 
"Both  who  thou  art,  and  what  thou  wouldst  I  know  ; 
"  I  know  thou  liest !  I'll  have  no  part  with  thee ! 
"Devil,  avaunt ! — I  will  not  taste  thy  TEA  !" 

Yet,  have  we  seen  the  Power  that  we  suppose, 
To  have  spoken  thus  from  the  tea-kettle's  nose, 
More  than  make  good  what,  first,  appeared  to  be 
At  once  a  boastful  and  false  prophecy. 

The  wings  of  Time,  who  ne'er  suspends  his  flight, 
Will  not  allow,  although  your  patience  might, 
Your  bard  to  note  the  multitude  of  things, 
That  Time  has  brought  us,  on  those  sweeping  wings, 
From  Yankee  genius,  industry  and  skill, 
Since  Justice  took  her  seat  upon  this  hill : — 
Innumerable  things,  contrived  as  means 
Of  saving  labor: — multiform  machines, 


POEM.  95 

Impelled  by  wind,  by  water  and  by  steam, 

By  sheep,  by  horses,  by  the  tardier  team 

Of  bullocks, — nay,  for  labors  very  nice, 

Mills  and  machinery  that  are  worked  by  mice ! — 

A  lathe,  that  turns,  out  of  a  wooden  block, 

A  last,  an  ax-helve,  or  a  musket-stock, 

Nay — if  you'll  stand  so,  that  it  can  get  at  you, 

It  will  turn  you  into  a  marble  statue  !* — 

A  printing  press,  that,  by  hot  water  power, 

Prints  twenty  thousand  volumes  in  an  hour ! 

A  car,  that,  if  you  wish  to  run  away, 

Will  carry  you  three  hundred  miles  a  day ! 

But,  think  not,  that,  when  in  that  car,  you've  fled,  you 

Are  "off"  so  fast  that  nothing  else  can  "head"  you. 

If  so  you've  thought,  without  your  host  you've  reckoned  ; 

The  news  shall  run  a  thousand  miles  a  second, 

Along  a  wire,  by  Yankee  genius  given, 

To  make  a  tell-tale  of  the  fire  from  heaven ; 

And,  if  your  friends  are  anxious  to  restore  you, 

The  lightning  starts  next  day,  and  gets  there  long  before  you ! 

'Tis  not  my  purpose  to  appropriate 
All  that  is  clever  to  our  native  Scate : — 
The  children  of  her  sister  states,  our  cousins, 
Present  their  claims: — allow  them  — though  by  dozens  ; — 
We're  not  like  dogs,  all  fighting  for  a  bone, 
And  every  snarler  yowling  o'er  his  own : — 
Not  like  the  runners  that  enrolled  their  names 
For  wreaths  of  lairel  in  the  Pythian  games ; 


*  This  is  no  fiction  :— it  is  strictly  true  ; 
Twill  turn  a  marble  '  duplicate'  of  you. 


96  POEM. 

For,  there,  though  all  ran  well,  who  ran  the  best, 
Alone  bore  off  the  crown  from  all  the  rest. 
We  would  be  just,  and,  so,  divide  the  bays  ; — 
The  wit  is  common — common  be  the  praise. 
But,  when  we've  weighed  them,  in  a  balance  true, 
And  given  our  cousins  all  that  is  their  due, 
Will  not  themselves  acknowledge  that  the  weight 
Inclines  in  favor  of  "  the  Nutmeg  State  "  ? 
That,  true  and  fine  as  is  their  razor  set, 
Ours  has  an  edge  a  "leetle  "  finer  yet; — 
That,  though  theirs  leaves  the  visage  very  sleek, 
Ours  hugs,  a  trifle  closer,  to  the  cheek  ? 
So  that,  in  all  that  gives  the  Yankee  place 
In  the  front  rank  of  the  whole  human  race, — 
Among  her  sisters, — "when  all's  said  and  done," 
Our  little  Mother  must  rank,  Number  One. 

What  if  her  faith,  to  which  she  clings  as  true, 
Appears,  to  some  eyes,  slightly  tinged  with  blue  ? 
With  blue  as  blue,  aside  from  any  ism, 
We  find  no  fault; — the  spectrum  of  a  prism, 
The  rainbow,  and  the  flowers-de-luce,  that  look, 
At  their  own  beauty,  in  the  glassy  brook, 
Show  us  a  blue,  that  never  fails  to  please ; 
So  does  yon  lake,  when  rippled  by  a  breeze  ; 
In  morning  glories  blue  looks  very  well, 
And  in  the  little  flower,  they  call  "blue  bell." 
No  better  color  is  there  for  the  sky, 
Or,  as  /think,  for  a  blonde  beauty's  eye. 
It's  very  pretty  for  a  lady's  bonnet, 
Or  for  the  ribbon  that  she  puts  upon  it ; 


POEM.  97 

But  in  her  faith,  as  also  in  her  face, 
Some  will  insist  that  blue  is  out  of  place ; 
As  all  agree  it  would  be  in  the  rose, 
She  wears,  and,  peradventure,  in — her  hose. 

Still,  for  her  shrewdness,  must  the  "Nutmeg  State"  J 
As  Number  One,  among  her  sisters  rate  ; 
And  which,  of  all  her  counties,  will  compare, 
For  size  or  strength,  for  water,  soil  or  air, 
With  our  good  mother  county  ? — Which  has  sown 
Her  children,  broad-cast,  o'er  a  wider  zone, 
Around  the  globe  ?    And  has  she  not,  by  far, 
Out-done  the  rest,  in  giving,  to  the  bar, 
And  to  the  bench, — for  half  of  all  her  years — 
The  brightest  names  of  half  the  hemispheres  ? 
Nor  have  "  Creation's  lords"  engrossed  her  care  ; 
Creation's  ladies  have  received  their  share  : — 
For,  when  to  Reeve  and  Gould  the  former  came, 
To  Pierce  the  latter  : — Pierce,  an  honored  name  ! 
Yea,  thrice  and  four  times  honored,  when  it  stands 
Beside  his  name,  who  comes,  with  bloody  hands, 
From  fields  of  battle  ;  though  the  applauding  shout 
From  myriad  mouths — and  muskets — call  it  out ; 
Though  by  him,  armies  were  to  victory  led, 
And  groves  of  laurel  grow  upon  his  head ! 

Bloodless  the  honors  that  to  Pierce  are  paid : 
Bloodless  the  garlands  on  her  temples  laid. 
To  them,  reproachful,  no  poor  widow  turns  ; 
No  sister's  heart  bleeds,  and  no  mother  mourns 
To  see  them  flourish.     Ne'er  shall  they  be  torn 
From  off  her  honored  brows.     Long  be  they  worn, 


98  POEM. 

To  show  the  world  how  a  good  Teacher's  name 
Out-weighs,  in  real  worth,  the  proudest  warrior's  fame  ! — 

Our  mother  county  !  never  shalt  thou  boast 
Of  mighty  cities,  or  a  sea-washed  coast. 
Not  thine  the  marts,  where  Commerce  spreads  her  wings, 
And  to  her  wharves  the  wealth  of  India  brings  : 
No  field  of  thine  has  e'er  been  given  to  fame, 
Or  stamped,  by  History,  with  a  hero's  name  ; 
For,  on  no  field  of  thine  was  e'er  displayed 
A  hostile  host,  or  drawn  a  battle  blade. 
The  better  honors  thine,  that  wait  on  Peace. 
Thy  names  are  chosen,  not  from  martial  Greece, 
Whose  bloody  laurels  by  the  sword  were  won, — 
Platea,  Salamis,  and  Marathon ; — 
But  from  the  pastoral  people,  strong  and  free, 
Whose  hills  looked  down  upon  the  Midland  sea, — 
The  Holy  Land.     Thy  Carmel  lifts  his  head 
Over  thy  Bethlehem, — thy  "  house  of  bread"— 
Not  Egypt's  land  of  Groshen  equaled  thine, 
For  wealth  of  pasture,  or  "  well-favored  kine ;" 
While  many  a  streamlet  through  thy  Canaan  flows, 
And  in  thy  Sharon  blushes  many  a  rose. 

But,  mother  Litchfield,  thou  hast  stronger  claims 
To  be  called  holy,  than  thy  holy  names 
Can  give  thee. — Reckon  as  thy  jewels,  then, 
Thy  saintly  women,  and  thy  holy  men. 
Scarce  have  thine  early  birds  from  sleep  awoke, 
And  up  thy  hill-sides  curls  the  cottage  smoke, 
When  rises  with  it,  on  the  morning  air, 
The  voice  of  household  worship  and  of  prayer  ; 


POEM.  99 

And  when  the  night-bird  sinks  upon  her  nest 
To  warm  her  fledglings  with  her  downy  breast, 
In  reverent  posture,  many  a  father  stands, 
And,  o'er  his  children,  lifting  holy  hands, 
Gives  them  to  God,  the  Guardian  of  their  sleep  ; 
While,  round  their  beds,  their  nightly  vigils  keep 
Those  Angel  ministers  of  heavenly  grace, 
Who  "  always  do  behold  their  Father's  face." 
And,  when  the  day  returns  for  toil  to  cease, 
With  the  disciples  of  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
The  voice  responsive  of  thy  village  bells, 
From  hill  and  valley,  on  the  clear  air  swells, 
And  up  thy  hills,  and  down  thy  valleys  go 
Thy  sons  and  daughters,  reverently  slow, 
To  eat  the  bread  of  life,  their  pastor  brings, 
And  pay  their  homage  to  the  King  of  kings. 

Land  of  my  birth,  thou  art  a  holy  land  ! 
Strong  in  thy  virtue  may'st  thou  ever  stand, 
As  hi  thy  soil  and  mountains  thou  art  strong  ! 
And,  as  thy  mountain  echoes  now  prolong 
The  cadence  of  thy  water-falls, — forever 
Be  the  voice  lifted  up  of  Time's  broad  river, 
As  on  it  rushes  to  the  eternal  sea, 
Sounding  the  praises  of  thy  sons  and  Thee ! 


SECOND   DAY 


AT  half  past  ten,  A.  M.,  a  procession  was  formed  in  the  same 
order  as  the  first  day,  and  marched  to  the  Tent,  escorted  by  the 
"  Bacon  Guards." 

The  exercises  were  then  opened  by  vocal  music  from  the 
County  Musical  Association,  singing  the  following  hymn  to  the 
tune  of  China ;  the  audience  uniting :  The  fine  effect  of  which, 
from  thousands  of  voices,  can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 

1. 

0  LOKD,  thy  covenant  is  sure 

To  all  who  fear  thy  name ; 
Thy  mercies  age  on  age  endure, 

Eternally  the  same. 

2. 
In  Thee  our  fathers  put  their  trust ; 

Thy  ways  they  humbly  trod ; 
Honored  and  sacred  is  their  dust, 

And  still  they  live  to  God. 

3. 
Heirs  to  their  faith,  their  hopes,  their  prayers, 

We  the  same  path  pursue  ; 
Entail  the  blessing  to  our  heirs  ; 

Lord !  show  thy  promise  true. 

A  prayer  was  then  offered  by  the  Rev.  RUFUS  BABCOCK,  D.D., 
of  Philadelphia,  a  native  of  Colebrook. 

7 


102  SECOND   DAY. — PRAYER. 


PRAYER. 


ALMIGHTY  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  beneath  the  opening 
skies,  we,  Thy  not  ungrateful  children,  would  devoutly  bow  be- 
fore Thee  in  this  solemn  and  joyous  hour,  recognizing  that 
parental  love  and  care  which  Thou  hast  exerted  towards  us,  and 
calling  upon  our  souls,  and  all  within  us,  to  praise,  and  bless, 
and  honor  Thee,  our  Maker,  our  Preserver,  and  our  gracious 
Benefactor,  for  the  bestowment  of  infinite,  varied,  and  constant 
bounties,  ever  since  we  had  a  being. 

We  rejoice  in  Thee,  as  the  source  of  every  good  and  every 
perfect  gift.  With  humble  and  adoring  thankfulness,  we  recog- 
nize Thee  as  our  fathers'  God.  Thou  didst  lead  them  to  this 
waste,  howling  wilderness.  Thou  didst  cast  out  various  impedi- 
ments from  before  them,  and  grant  them  the  enjoyment  of  this 
favored  land,  where,  in  the  exercise  of  a  hardy  industry,  they 
were  enabled  to  "  provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men" 
for  themselves  and  their  households,  and  not  only  to  see  growing 
up  around  them,  as  plants  of  righteousness,  their  own  favored 
offspring,  but  Thou  didst  enable  them  to  send  off  to  the  right 
hand  and  to  the  left,  many  a  promising  oflshoot,  on  whom  Thy 
favor  has  also  rested.  In  their  wide  dispersion,  Thou  hast  led 
them  like  a  flock,  and  multiplied  and  blessed  them ;  and  many  of 
them  are  now  uniting  with  us  in  heart,  though  not  in  presence,  in 
sending  up  ascriptions  of  praise  to  that  All  Gracious  Benefactor, 
by  whose  kind  guardianship  we  and  our  fathers  have  been  estab- 
lished, directed  and  blessed. 

We  thank  Thee  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  imbued  the 
mind  and  heart  of  those  parents,  making  them  what  they  were 
to  us  and  the  world.  Oh,  let  not  their  favored  children  cast 
away  that  entire  dependence  on  Almighty  God,  that  humble, 
grateful  recognition  of  his  gracious  Providence,  which  character- 
ized those  who  have  gone  before.  Oh,  let  us  remember  that  it 
will  fare  ill  with  us,  if  we  cast  aside  a  dutiful  regard  of  the  God 


SECOND    DAY. — PRAYER.  103 

;>f  our  fathers ;  if  \ve  seek  from  any  other  source,  blessings  that 
can  come  from  Him  only. 

We  rejoice  that  among  the  appropriate  exercises  of  this  occa- 
sion, we  are  met  here  to-day,  as  our  fathers  were  wont  to  meet 
before  their  Heavenly  Father,  to  give  heed  to  the  instructions  of 
Thy  most  holy  word.  May  Thy  rich  blessing  rest  on  the  speaker 
and  hearers,  that  we  may  be  instructed,  as  well  as  delighted,  on 
this  occasion ;  and  that  our  hearts  may  be  drawn  forth  in  grate- 
ful adoration  for  Thy  guardian  providence,  which  has  so  watched 
over  and  prospered  and  blessed  us,  and  by  whose  favor  we  are 
gathered  at  this  time,  and  from  whom  we  have  been  permitted 
to  receive  so  many  gracious  tokens  of  parental  care  and  love, 
while  we  trust  Thee  for  thy  future  care  and  love. 

May  the  like  blessings  which  have  so  richly  distinguished  us, 
be  extended  throughout  our  State,  and  throughout  our  States, 
that  each  community,  on  appropriate  and  fitting  occasions,  may 
have  an  opportunity  to  meet  as  we  are  met,  rejoicing  in  peace 
and  universal  prosperity.  May  we  rejoice  always  in  true  hu- 
mility before  God ;  and  while  praising  and  blessing  Thee  for  Thy 
favors,  may  we  humble  ourselves  because  of  the  ill-requital  which 
has  been  made  for  the  bestowment  of  such  mercies.  In  deep 
humility,  it  becomes  us  to  confess  this  day,  that  we  have  erred 
and  strayed  from  Thy  ways.  Oh,  Lord,  be  merciful  and  heal 
all  our  backslidings,  turn  us  from  our  perverse  ways,  and  estab- 
lish us  in  Thy  truth.  May  the  Holy  Scriptures  be  still  our 
blessed  guide,  and  may  they  instruct  us  in  the  duties  of  industry, 
frugality,  integrity,  and  benevolence  :  may  they  prompt  us  to 
extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  needy  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  Wherever  the  sons  and  daughters  of  this 
County  have  gone  forth,  there  may  streams  of  salvation,  as  from 
the  purest  fountain,  extend  to  every  parched  and  desolate  place, 
so  that  one  song  may  break  forth  throughout  the  land :  and  to 
the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  we  will  ascribe  praises  ever- 
lasting. Amen ! 


THE  Rev.  HORACE  BUSHNELL,  of  Hartford,  a  native  of  Litch- 
field  County,  then  delivered  the  following  Discourse. 


nf  Hum?  spun. 


A  DISCOURSE, 

DELIVERED  AT  LITCHFIELD,   CONK, 


ON   THE    OCCASION    OF    THE 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION,  1851 


BY 


HORACE  BUSHNELL. 


DISCOURSE. 


•  IT  has  often  occurred  to  others,  I  presume,  as  to  me,  to  wish 
that,  for  once,  it  were  possible,  in  some  of  our  historic  celebra- 
tions, to  gather  up  the  unwritten  part,  also,  of  the  history  cele- 
brated ;  thus  to  make  some  fit  account  of  the  private  virtues  and 
unrecorded  struggles,  in  whose  silent  commonalty,  we  doubt  not, 
are  included  all  the  deepest  possibilities  of  social  advancement 
and  historic  distinction.  On  this  account,  since  the  Historical 
Address  of  yesterday  presented  us,  in  a  manner  so  complete 
and  so  impressive  to  the  feeling  of  us  all,  the  principal  events 
and  names  of  honor  by  which  our  County  has  been  distinguished, 
I  am  the  more  willing  to  come  after  as  a  gleaner,  in  the  stubble- 
ground  that  is  left ;  nor  any  the  less  so,  if,  in  gathering  up  the 
fallen  straws  of  grain,  I  may  chance  to  catch,  in  my  rake,  some  of 
those  native  violets  that  love  so  well  to  hide  their  blue  in  the 
grass,  and  shed  their  fragrance  undiscovered.  I  think  you  will 
agree  with  me,  also,  that  nothing  is  more  appropriate  to  a  Sermon, 
(which  is  the  form  of  my  appointment,)  than  to  offer  some  fit 
remembrance  of  that  which  heaven  only  keeps  in  charge,  the 
un-historic  deeds  of  common  life,  and  the  silent,  undistinguished 
good  whose  names  are  written  only  in  heaven.  In  this  view,  I 
propose  a  discourse  on  the  words  of  King  Lemuel's  mother  : — 

Pnov.  31 :  28.     "  Her  children  arise  up  and  call  her  blessed." 

This  Lemuel,  who  is  called  a  king,  is  supposed  by  some  to 
have  been  a  Chaldee  chief,  or  head  of  a  clan ;  a  kind  of  Arca- 
dian prince,  like  Job  and  Jethro.  And  this  last  chapter  of  the 
Proverbs  is  an  eastern  poem,  called  a  "  prophecy,"  that  versifies 


108  DISCOURSE. 


in  form,  the  advice  which  his  honored  and  wise  mother  gave  to 
her  son.  She  dwells,  in  particular,  on  the  ideal  picture  of  a  fine 
woman,  such  as  he  may  fitly  seek  for  his  wife,  or  queen ;  drawing 
the  picture,  doubtless,  in  great  part,  from  herself  and  her  own 
practical  character.  "  She  layeth  her  hands  to  the  spindle  and 
her  hands  hold  the  distaff.  She  is  not  afraid  of  the  snow  for  her 
household ;  for  all  her  household  arc  covered  with  scarlet.  Her 
husband  is  known  in  the  gates,  when  he  sitteth  among  the  elders 
of  the  land.  She  openeth  her  mouth  in  wisdom,  and  in  her 
tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness.  She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of 
her  household,  and  eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness."  Omitting 
other  points  of  the  picture,  she  is  a  frugal,  faithful,  pious  house- 
wife ;  clothing  her  family  in  garments  prepared  by  her  industry, 
and  the  more  beautiful  honors  of  a  well-kept,  well-mannered 
house.  She,  therefore,  it  is,  who  makes  the  center  of  a  happy 
domestic  life,  and  becomes  a  mark  of  reverence  to  her  children  :— 
"Her  children  arise  up  and  call  her  blessed." 

A  very  homely  and  rather  common  picture,  some  of  you  may 
fancy,  for  a  queen,  or  chief  woman  ;  but,  as  you  view  the  subject 
more  historically,  it  will  become  a  picture  even  of  dignity  and 
polite  culture.  The  rudest  and  most  primitive  stage  of  society 
has  its  most  remarkable  distinction  in  the  dress  of  skins ;  as  in 
ancient  Scythia,  and  in  many  other  parts  of  the  world,  even  at 
the  present  day.  The  preparing  of  fabrics,  by  spinning  and 
weaving,  marks  a  great  social  transition,  or  advance ;  one  that 
was  slowly  made  and  is  not  even  yet  absolutely  perfected.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  art  of  spinning  and  weaving  was,  for  long  ages, 
looked  upon  as  a  kind  of  polite  distinction ;  much  as  needle 
work  is  now.  Thus,  when  Moses  directed  in  the  preparation  of 
curtains  for  the  tabernacle,  we  are  told  that  "all  the  women  that 
were  wise-hearted  did  spin  with  their  hands."  That  is,  that  the 
accomplished  ladies  who  understood  this  fine  art,  (as  few  of  the 
women  did)  executed  his  order.  Accordingly,  it  is  represented 
that  the  most  distinguished  queens  of  the  ancient  time  excelled 
in  the  art  of  spinning  ;  and  the  poets  sing  of  distaffs  and  looms, 
as  the  choicest  symbols  of  princely  women.  Thus,  Homer 
describes  the  present  of  Alcandra  to  Helen  : 


"Alcandra,  consort  of  his  high  command, 
A  golden  distaff  gave  to  Helen's  hand  ; 


DISCOURSE.  109 


And  that  rich  vase,  with  living  sculpture  wrought, 
Which,  heaped  with  wool,  the  beauteous  Philo  brought, 
The  silken  fleece,  impurpled  for  the  loom, 
Recalled  the  hyacinth  in  vernal  bloom." 

So,  also,  Theocritus,  when  he  is  going  to  give  a  present  to  his 
friend's  bride,  couples  it  with  verse : — 

"  0  distaff!  friend  to  warp  and  woof, 
Minerva's  gift  in  man's  behoof, 
Whom  careful  housewifes  still  retain, 
And  gather  to  their  household  gain, 
Thee,  ivory  distaff!  I  provide, 
A  present  for  his  blooming  bride. 
With  her  thou  wilt  sweet  toil  partake, 
And  aid  her  various  vestes  to  make." 

If  I  rightly  remember,  it  is  even  said  of  Augustus,  himself, 
at  the  height  of  the  Roman  splendor,  that  he  wore  a  robe  which 
was  made  for  him  by  Livia,  his  wife. 

You  perceive,  in  this  manner,  that  Lemuel's  mother  has  any 
but  rustic  ideas  of  what  a  wife  should  be.  She  describes,  in  fact, 
a  lady  of  the  highest  accomplishments ;  whose  harpsichord  is  the 
distaff,  whose  piano  is  the  loom,  and  who  is  able  thus,  by  the  fine 
art  she  is  mistress  of,  to  make  her  husband  conspicuous  among 
the  elders  of  the  land.  Still,  you  will  understand  that  what  we 
call  the  old  spinning-wheel,  a  great  factory  improvement,  was  not 
invented  till  long  ages  after  this ;  being,  in  fact,  a  comparatively 
modern,  I  believe  a  German  or  Saxon,  improvement.  The  dis- 
taff, in  the  times  of  my  text,  was  held  in  one  hand  or  under  one 
arm,  and  the  spindle,  hanging  by  the  thread,  was  occasionally  hit 
and  twirled  by  the  other.  The  weaving  process  was  equally 
rude  and  simple. 

These  references  to  the  domestic  economy  of  the  more  ancient 
times,  have  started  recollections,  doubtless,  in  many  of  you,  that 
are  characteristic,  in  a  eimilar  way,  of  our  own  primitive  history. 
You  have  remembered  the  wheel  and  the  loom.  You  have 
recalled  the  fact,  that  our  Litchfield  County  people,  down  to  a 


110  DISCOURSE. 


period  comparatively  recent,  have  been  a  people  clothed  in  home- 
spun fabrics — not  wholly,  or  in  all  cases,  but  so  generally  that 
the  exceptions  may  be  fairly  disregarded.  In  this  fact  I  find  my 
subject.  As  it  is  sometimes  said  that  the  history  of  iron  is  the 
history  of  the  world,  or  the  history  of  roads  a  true  record,  always, 
of  commercial  and  social  progress,  so  it  Las  occurred  to  me  that 
I  may  give  the  most  effective  and  truest  impression  of  Litchfield 
County,  and  especially  of  the  unhistoric  causes  included  in  a  true 
estimate  of  the  century  now  past,  under  this  article  of  homespun; 
describing  this  first  century  as  the  Homespun  Age  of  our  people. 

The  subject  is  homely,  as  it  should  be ;  but  I  think  we  shall 
find  enough  of  dignity  in  it,  as  we  proceed,  even  to  content  our 
'highest  ambition — the  more,  that  I  do  not  propose  to  confine  my- 
self rigidly  to  the  single  matter  of  spinning  and  weaving,  but  to 
gather  round  this  feature  of  domestic  life,  taken  as  a  symbol,  or 
central  type  of  expression,  whatever  is  most  characteristic  in  the 
living  picture  of  the  times  we  commemorate,  and  the  simple,  godly 
virtues,  we  delight  to  honor. 

What  we  call  History,  considered  as  giving  a  record  of  notable 
events,  or  transactions,  under  names  and  dates,  and  so  a  really 
just  and  true  exhibition  of  the  causes  that  construct  a  social  state, 
I  conceive  to  be  commonly  very  much  of  a  fiction.  True  worth 
is,  for  the  most  part,  unhistoric,  and  so  of  all  the  beneficent 
causes  and  powers  included  in  the  lives  of  simply  worthy  men  ; 
causes  most  fundamental  and  efficient,  as  regards  the  well  being 
and  public  name  of  communities.  They  are  such  as  flow  in 
silence,  like  the  great  powers  of  nature.  Indeed,  we  say  of  his- 
tory, and  say  rightly,  that  it  is  a  record  of  e-vents — that  is,  of 
turnings  out,  points  where  the  silence  is  broken  by  something  ap- 
parently not  in  the  regular  flow  of  common  life  ;  just  as  electri- 
city, piercing  the  world  in  its  silent  equilibrium,  holding  all  atoms 
to  their  places,  and  quickening  even  the  -life  of  our  bodies,  be- 
comes historic  only  when  it  thunders  ;  though  it  does  nothing 
more,  in  its  thunder,  than  simply  to  notify  us,  by  so  great  a 
noise,  of  the  breach  of  its  connections  and  the  disturbance  of  its 
silent  work.  Besides,  in  our  historic  pictures,  we  are  obliged  to 
sink  particulars  in  generals,  and  so  to  gather,  under  the  name  of 
a  prominent  few,  what  is  really  done  by  nameless  multitudes. 
These,  we  say,  led  out  the  colonies,  these  raised  up  the  states  and 


DISCOURSE.  Ill 


communities,  these  fought  the  battles.  And  so  we  make  a  vicious 
inversion,  not  seldom,  of  the  truth  ;  representing  as  causes,  those 
who,  after  all,  are  not  so  much  causes  as  effects,  not  so  much 
powers  as  instruments,  in  the  occasions  signalized  by  their 
names — caps  only  of  foam,  that  roll  conspicuous  in  the  sun,  lifted, 
still,  by  the  deep  under-swell  of  waters  hid  from  the  eye. 

Therefore,  if  you  ask,  who  made  this  Litchfield  County  of  ours, 
it  will  be  no  sufficient  answer  that  you  get,  however  instructive 
and  useful,  when  you  have  gathered  up  the  names  that  appear  in 
our  public  records,  and  recited  the  events  that  have  found  an  hon- 
orable place  in  the  history  of  the  County,  or  the  republic.  You 
must  not  go  into  the  burial  places,  and  look  about  only  for  the 
tall  monuments  and  the  titled  names.  It  is  not  the  starred 
epitaphs  of  the  Doctors  of  Divinity,  the  Generals,  the  Judges, 
the  Honorables,  the  Governors,  or  even  of  the  village  notables 
called  Esquires,  that  mark  the  springs  of  our  successes  and  the 
sources  of  our  distinction.  These  are  rather  effects  than  causes ; 
the  spinning  wheels  have  done  a  great  deal  more  than  these. 
Around  the  honored  few,  here  a  Bellamy,  or  a  Day,  sleeping  in 
the  midst  of  his  flock ;  here  a  Wolcott,  or  a  Smith ;  an  Allen, 
or  a  Tracy ;  a  Reeve,  or  a  Gould ;  all  names  of  honor — round  about 
these  few,  and  others  like  them,  are  lying  multitudes  of  worthy  men 
and  women,  under  their  humbler  monuments,  or  in  graves  that  are 
hidden  by  the  monumental  green  that  loves  to  freshen  over  their  for- 
gotten resting  place  ;  and  in  these,  the  humble  but  good  many,  we 
are  to  say  are  the  deepest,  truest  causes  of  our  happy  history.  Here 
lie  the  sturdy  kings  of  Homespun,  who  climbed  among  these 
hills,  with  their  axes,  to  cut  away  room  for  their  cabins  and  for 
family  prayers,  and  so  for  the  good  future  to  come.  Here  lie 
their  sons,  who  foddered  their  cattle  on  the  snows,  and  built  stone 
fence  while  the  corn  was  sprouting  in  the  hills,  getting  ready,  in 
that  way,  to  send  a  boy  or  two  to  college.  Here  lie  the  good 
housewives  that  made  coats,  every  year,  like  Hannah,  for  their  chil- 
drens'  bodies,  and  lined  their  memory  with  catechism.  Here  the 
millers,  that  took  honest  toll  of  the  rye  ;  the  smiths  and  coopers, 
that  superintended  two  hands  and  got  a  little  revenue  of  honest 
bread  and  schooling  from  their  small  joint  stock  of  two-handed 
investment.  Here  the  district  committees  and  school  mis- 
tresses ;  the  religious  society  founders  and  church  deacons  ;  and, 


112  DISCOURSE. 


withal,  a  great  many  sensible,  wise-headed  men,  who  read  a 
weekly  newspaper,  loved  George  Washington  and  their  country, 
and  had  never  a  thought  of  going  to  the  General  Assembly! 
These  are  the  men  and  women  that  made  Litchfield  County. 
Who  they  are,  by  name,  we  can  not  tell — no  matter  who  they 
are — we  should  be  none  the  wiser  if  we  could  name  them  ;  they 
themselves  none  the  more  honorable.  Enough  that  they  are  the 
king  Lemuels  and  their  queens,  of  the  good  old  time  gone  by — 
kings  and  queens  of  Homespun,  out  of  whom  we  draw  our  royal 
lineage. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  great  advance  in  human  society,  indicated 
by  a  transition  from  the  dress  of  skins  to  that  of  cloth — an  ad- 
vance of  so  great  dignity,  that  spinning  and  weaving  were  looked 
upon  as  a  kind  of  fine  art,  or  polite  accomplishment.  Another 
advance,  and  one  that  is  equally  remarkable,  is  indicated  by  the 
transition  from  a  dress  of  homespun  to  a  dress  of  factory  cloths, 
produced  by  machinery  and  obtained  by  the  exchanges  of  com- 
merce, at  home  or  abroad.  This  transition  we  are  now  making, 
or  rather,  I  should  say,  it  is  already  so  far  made  that  the  very 
terms,  "  domestic  manufacture"  have  quite  lost  their  meaning  ; 
being  applied  to  that  which  is  neither  domestic,  as  being  made 
in  the  house,  nor  manu-facture,  as  being  made  by  the  hands. 

This  transition  from  mother  and  daughter  power,  to  water  and 
steam  power,  is  a  great  one,  greater  by  far  than  many  have  as 
yet  begun  to  conceive — one  that  is  to  carry  with  it  a  complete 
revolution  of  domestic  life  and  social  manners.  If,  in  this  transi- 
tion, there  is  something  to  regret,  there  is  more,  I  trust,  to  de- 
sire. If  it  carries  away  the  old  simplicity,  it  must  also  open 
higher  possibilities  of  culture  and  social  ornament.  The  princi- 
pal danger  is,  that,  in  removing  the  rough  necessities  of  the  home- 
spun age,  it  may  take  away,  also,  the  severe  virtues  and  the 
homely  but  deep  and  true  piety  by  which,  in  their  blessed  fruits, 
as  we  are  all  here  testifying,  that  age  is  so  honorably  distin- 
guished. Be  the  issue  what  it  may,  good  or  bad,  hopeful  or  un- 
hopeful, it  has  come ;  it  is  already  a  fact,  and  the  consequences 
must  follow. 

If  our  sons  and  daughters  should  assemble,  a  hundred  years 
hence,  to  hold  another  celebration  like  this,  they  will  scarcely  be 
able  to  imagine  the  Arcadian  pictures  now  so  fresh  in  the  memory 


DISCOURSE.  113 


of  many  of  us,  though  to  the  younger  part  already  matters  of 
hearsay  more  than  of  personal  knowledge  or  remembrance.  Every 
thing  that  was  most  distinctive  of  the  old  homespun  mode  of  life 
will  then  have  passed  away.  The  spinning  wheels  of  wool  and 
flax,  that  used  to  buzz  so  familiarly  in  the  childish  ears  of  some 
of  us,  will  be  heard  no  more  forever — seen  no  more,  in  fact,  save 
in  the  halls  of  the  Antiquarian  Societies,  where  the  delicate 
daughters  will  be  asking,  what  these  strange  machines  are,  and 
how  they  were  made  to  go  ?  The  huge,  hewn-timber  looms,  that 
used  to  occupy  a  room  by  themselves,  in  the  farm  houses,  will  be 
gone,  cu-t  up  for  cord  wood,  and  their  heavy  thwack,  beating  up 
the  woof,  will  be  heard  no  more  by  the  passer  by — not  even  the 
Antiquarian  Halls  will  find  room  to  harbor  a  specimen.  The 
long  strips  of  linen,  bleaching  on  the  grass,  and  tended  by  a 
sturdy  maiden,  sprinkling  them,  each  hour,  from  her  water-can, 
under  a  broiling  sun — thus  to  prepare  the  Sunday  linen  for  her 
brothers  and  her  own  wedding  outfit,  will  have  disappeared,  save 
as  they  return  to  fill  a  picture  in  some  novel  or  ballad  of  the  old 
time.  The  tables  will  be  spread  with  some  cunning,  water-power 
Silesia  not  yet  invented,  or  perchance  with  some  meaner  fabric 
from  the  cotton  mills.  The  heavy  Sunday  coats,  that  grew  on  sheep 
individually  remembered,  more  comfortably  carried,  in  warm 
weather,  on  the  arm,  and  the  specially  fine-striped,  blue  and  white 
pantaloons,  of  linen  just  from  the  loom,  will  no  longer  be  conspicu- 
ous in  processions  of  footmen  going  to  meeting,  but  will  have  given 
place  to  showy  carriages,  filled  with  gentlemen  in  broadcloth,  fes- 
tooned with  chains  of  California  gold,  and  delicate  ladies  holding 
perfumed  sun  shades.  The  churches,  too,  that  used  to  be  simple 
brown  meeting  houses,  covered  with  rived  clapboards  of  oak,  will 
have  come  down,  mostly,  from  the  bleak  hill  tops  into  the  close 
villages  and  populous  towns,  that  crowd  the  waterfalls  and  the 
rail  roads  ;  and  the  old  burial  places,  where  the  fathers  sleep,  will 
be  left  to  their  lonely  altitude — token,  shall  we  say,  of  an  age 
that  lived  as  much  nearer  to  heaven  and  as  much  less  under  the 
world.  The  change  will  be  complete.  Would  that  we  might 
raise  some  worthy  monument  to  a  state  which  is  then  to  be  so  far 
passed  by,  so  worthy,  in  all  future  time,  to  be  held  in  the  dearest 
reverence. 


114  DISCOURSE. 


It  may  have  seemed  extravagant,  or  fantastic,  to  some  of  you, 
that  I  should  think  to  give  a  character  of  the  century  now  past, 
under  the  one  article  of  homespun.  It  certainly  is  not  the  only, 
or  in  itself  the  chief  article  of  distinction  ;  and  yet  we  shall  find 
it  to  be  a  distinction  that  runs  through  all  others,  and  gives  a 
color  to  the  whole  economy  of  life  and  character,  in  the  times  of 
which  we  speak. 

Thus,  if  the  clothing  is  to  be  manufactured  in  the  house,  then 
flax  will  be  grown  in  the  plowed  land,  and  sheep  will  be  raised 
in  the  pasture,  and  the  measure  of  the  flax  ground,  and  the  num- 
ber of  the  flock,  will  correspond  with  the  measure  of  the  home 
market,  the  number  of  the  sons  and  daughters  to  be  clothed,  so 
that  the  agriculture  out  of  doors  will  map  the  family  in  doors. 
Then  as  there  is  no  thought  of  obtaining  the  articles  of  clothing, 
or  dress,  by  exchange  ;  as  there  is  little  passing  of  money,  and 
the  habit  of  exchange  is  feebly  developed,  the  family  will  be  fed 
on  home  grown  products,  buckwheat,  Indian,  rye,  or  whatever 
the  soil  will  yield.  And  as  carriages  are  a  luxury  introduced 
only  with  exchanges,  the  lads  will  be  going  back  and  forth  to 
the  mill  on  horseback,  astride  the  fresh  grists,  to  keep  the  mouths 
in  supply.  The  meat  market  will  be  equally  domestic,  a  kind  of 
quarter-master  slaughter  and  supply,  laid  up  in  the  cellar,  at 
fit  times  in  the  year.  The  daughters  that,  in  factory  days, 
would  go  abroad  to  join  the  female  conscription  of  the  cotton 
mill,  will  be  kept  in  the  home  factory,  or  in  that  of  some  other 
family,  and  so  in  the  retreats  of  domestic  life.  And  so  it  will 
be  seen,  that  a  form  of  life  which  includes  almost  every  point  of 
economy,  centers  round  the  article  of  homespun  dress,  and  is  by 
that  determined.  Given  the  fact  that  a  people  spin  their  own 
dress,  and  you  have  in  that  fact  a  whole  volume  of  character- 
istics. They  may  be  shepherds  dwelling  in  tents,  or  they  may 
build  them  fixed  habitations,  but  the  distinction  given  will  show 
them  to  be  a  people  who  are  not  in  trade,  whose  life  centers  in 
the  family,  home-bred  in  their  manners,  primitive  and  simple  in 
their  character,  inflexible  in  their  piety,  hospitable  without  show, 
intelligent  without  refinement.  And  so  it  will  be  seen  that  our 
homespun  fathers  and  mothers  made  a  Puritan  Arcadia  among 
these  hills,  answering  to  the  picture  which  Polybius,  himself  an 
Arcadian,  gave  of  his  countrymen,  when  he  said  that  they  had, 


DISCOUKSE.  115 


"  throughout  Greece,  a  high  and  honorable  reputation ;  not  only 
on  account  of  their  hospitality  to  strangers,  and  their  benevo- 
lence towards  all  men,  but  especially  on  account  of  their  piety 
towards  the  Divine  Being." 

Thus,  if  we  speak  of  what,  in  the  polite  world,  is  called  so- 
ciety, our  homespun  age  had  just  none  of  it — and  perhaps  the 
more  of  society  for  that  reason ;  because  what  they  had  was 
separate  from  all  the  polite  fictions  and  empty  conventionalities 
of  the  world.  I  speak  not  here  of  the  rude  and  promiscuous 
gatherings  connected  so  often  with  low  and  vulgar  excesses ; 
the  military  trainings,  the  huskings,'the  raisings,  commonly  ended 
with  a  wrestling  match.  These  were  their  dissipations,  and 
perhaps  they  were  about  as  good  as  any.  The  apple-pearing 
and  quilting  frolics,  you  may  set  down,  if  you  will,  as  the  polka- 
dances  and  masquerades  of  homespun.  If  they  undertook  a 
formal  entertainment  of  any  kind,  it  was  commonly  stiff  and 
quite  unsuccessful.  But  when  some  two  queens  of  the  spindle, 
specially  fond  of  each  other,  instead  of  calling  back  and  forth 
with  a  card  case  in  their  hand,  agreed  to  "join  works,"  as  it 
was  called,  for  a  week  or  two,  in  spinning,  enlivening  their  talk 
by  the  rival  buzz  of  their  wheels  and,  when  the  two  skeins  were 
done,  spending  the  rest  of  the  day  in  such  kind  of  recreation  as 
pleased  them,  this  to  them  was  real  society,  and,  so  far,  a  good 
type  of  all  the  society  they  had.  It  was  the  society  not  of  the 
Nominalists,  but  of  the  Realists  ;  society  in  or  after  work ;  spon- 
taneously gathered,  for  the  most  part,  in  terms  of  elective 
affinity — foot  excursions  of  young  people,  or  excursions  on  horse- 
back, after  the  haying,  to  the  tops  of  the  neighboring  mountains ; 
boatings,  on  the  river  or  the  lake,  by  moonlight,  filling  the  wooded 
shores  and  the  recesses  of  the  hills  with  lively  echoes  ;  evening 
schools  of  sacred  music,  in  which  the  music  is  not  so  much  sacred 
as  preparing  to  be  ;  evening  circles  of  young  persons,  falling 
together,  as  they  imagine,  by  accident,  round  some  village  queen 
of  song,  and  chasing  away  the  time  in  ballads  and  glees  so  much 
faster  than  they  wish,  that  just  such  another  accident  is  like  to 
happen  soon  ;  neighbors  called  in  to  meet  the  minister  and  talk 
of  both  worlds  together,  and,  if  he  is  limber  enough  to  suffer  it, 
in  such  happy  mixtures,  that  both  are  melted  into  one. 


116  DISCOURSE. 


But  most  of  all  to  be  remembered,  are  those  friendly  circles, 
gathered  so  often  round  the  winter's  fire — not  the  stove,  but  the 
fire,  the  brightly  blazing,  hospitable  fire.  In  the  early  dusk,  the 
home  circle  is  drawn  more  closely  and  quietly  round  it ;  but 
a  good  neighbor  and  his  wife  drop  in  shortly,  from  over  the 
way,  and  the  circle  begins  to  spread.  Next,  a  few  young  folk 
from  the  other  end  of  the  village,  entering  in  brisker  mood, 
find  as  many  more  chairs  set  in  as  wedges  into  the  periphery  to 
receive  them  also.  And  then  a  friendly  sleigh  full  of  old  and 
young,  that  have  come  down  from  the  hill  to  spend  an  hour  or 
two,  spread  the  circle  again,  moving  it  still  farther  back  from 
the  fire ;  and  the  fire  blazes  just  as  much  higher  and  more 
brightly,  having  a  new  stick  added  for  every  guest.  There  is  no 
restraint,  certainly  no  affectation  of  style.  They  tell  stories, 
they  laugh,  they  sing.  They  are  serious  and  gay  by  turns,  or 
the  young  folks  go  on  with  some  play,  while  the  fathers  and 
mothers  are  discussing  some  hard  point  of  theology  in  the  minis- 
ter's last  sermon ;  or  perhaps  the  great  danger  coming  to  sound 
morals  from  the  multiplication  of  turnpikes  and  newspapers! 
Meantime,  the  good  housewife  brings  out  her  choice  stock  of 
home  grown  exotics,  gathered  from  three  realms,  doughnuts  from 
the  pantry,  hickory  nuts  from  the  chamber,  and  the  nicest, 
smoothest  apples  from  the  cellar ;  all  which,  including,  I  suppose 
I  must  add,  the  rather  unpoetic  beverage  that  gave  its  acid 
smack  to  the  ancient  hospitality,  are  discussed  as  freely,  with  no 
fear  of  consequences.  And  then,  as  the  tall  clock  in  the  corner 
of  the  room  ticks  on  majestically  towards  nine,  the  conversation 
takes,  it  may  be,  a  little  more  serious  turn,  and  it  is  suggested 
that  a  very  happy  evening  may  fitly  be  ended  with  a  prayer. 
Whereupon  the  circle  breaks  up  with  a  reverent,  congratulative 
look  on  every  face,  which  is  itself  the  truest  language  of  a  social 
nature  blessed  in  human  fellowship. 

Such,  hi  general,  was  the  society  of  the  homespun  age.  It 
was  not  that  society  that  puts  one  in  connection  with  the  great 
world  of  letters,  or  fashion,  or  power,  raising  as  much  the  level  of 
his  consciousness  and  the  scale  and  style  of  his  action ;  but  it 
was  society  back  of  the  world,  in  the  sacred  retreats  of  natural 
feeling,  truth  and  piety. 


DISCOURSE.  117 


Descending  from  the  topic  of  society  in  general  to  one  more 
delicate,  that  of  marriage  and  the  tender  passion  and  the  do- 
mestic felicities  of  the  homespun  age,  the  main  distinction  here 
to  be  noted  is,  that  marriages  were  commonly  contracted  at  a 
much  earlier  period  in  life  than  now.  Not  because  the  habit 
of  the  time  was  more  romantic  or  less  prudential,  but  because  a 
principle  more  primitive  and  closer  to  the  beautiful  simplicity 
of  nature  is  yet  in  vogue,  viz.,  that  women  are  given  by  the 
Almighty,  not  so  much  to  help  their  husbands  spend  a  living,  as 
to  help  them  get  one.  Accordingly,  the  ministers  were  always 
very  emphatic,  as  I  remember,  in  their  marriage  ceremonies,  on  the 
ancient  idea,  that  the  woman  was  given  to  the  man  to  be  a  help, 
meet  for  him.  Had  they  supposed,  on  the  contrary,  what  many 
appear  in  our  day  to  assume,  that  the  woman  is  given  to  the  man 
to  enjoy  his  living,  I  am  not  sure  that  a  certain  way  they  had  of 
adhering  always  to  the  reason  of  things,  would  not  have  set  them, 
at  feud  with  the  custom  that  requires  the  fee  of  the  man,  insist- 
ing that  it  go  to  the  charge  of  the  other  party,  where,  in  such  a 
case,  it  properly  belongs.  Now  exactly  this  notion  of  theirs,  I 
confess,  appears  to  me  to  be  the  most  sentimental  and  really  the 
most  romantic  notion  possible  of  marriage.  What  more  beauti- 
ful embodiment  is  there,  on  this  earth,  of  true  sentiment,  than 
the  young  wife  who  has  given  herself  to  a  man  in  his  weakness, 
to  make  him  strong  ;  to  enter  into  the  hard  battle  of  his  life  and 
bear  the  brunt  of  it  with  him  ;  to  go  down  with  him  in  disaster, 
if  he  fails,  and  cling  to  him  for  what  he  is  ;  to  rise  with  him,  if 
he  rises,  and  share  a  two-fold  joy  with  him  in  the  competence 
achieved ;  remembering,  both  of  them,  how  it  grew,  by  little  and 
little,  and  by  what  methods  of  frugal  industry  it  was  nourished ; 
having  it  also,  not  as  his,  but  theirs,  the  reward  of  their  common 
perseverence,  and  the  token  of  their  consolidated  love.  And  if 
this  be  the  most  heroic  sentiment  in  the  woman,  it  certainly  was 
no  fault  in  the  man  of  homespun  to  look  for  it.  And,  in  this 
view,  the  picture  given  of  his  suit,  by  a  favorite  poetess  of  our 
own,  is  as  much  deeper  in  poetry  as  it  is  closer  to  the  simplicity 
of  nature. 

"  Behold, 

The  rnddy  damsel  singeth  at  her  wheel. 
While  by  her  side  the  rustic  lover  sits, 


118  DISCOURSE. 


Perchance  his  shrewd  eye  secretly  doth  count 
The  mass  of  skeins  that,  hanging  on  the  wall, 
Increaseth  day  by  day.     Perchance  his  thought 
(For  men  have  wiser  minds  than  women,  sure,) 
Is  calculating  what  a  thrifty  wife 
The  maid  will  make." 

Do  not  accuse  our  rustic  here  too  hastily,  in  the  rather  homely 
picture  he  makes  ;  for  sometimes  it  is  the  way  of  homely  things, 
that  their  poetry  is  not  seen,  only  because  it  is  deepest.  The 
main  distinction  between  him  and  the  more  plausible  romantic 
class  of  suitors,  is,  that  his  passion  has  penetrated  beyond  the 
fancy,  into  the  reason,  and  made  the  sober  sense  itself  a  captive. 
Do  you  say  that  a  man  has  not  a  heart  because  it  is  shut  up  in 
the  casement  of  his  body  and  is  not  seen,  beating  on  the  skin  ? 
As  little  reason  have  you,  here,  to  blame  a  fault  of  passion,  be- 
cause it  throbs  under  the  strong,  defensive  ribs  of  prudence.  It 
is  the  froth  of  passion  that  makes  a  show  so  romantic,  on  the 
soul's  surfaces — the  truth  of  it,  that  pierces  inmost  realities.  So, 
I  suppose,  our  poetess  would  say  that  her  young  gentleman  of 
homespun  thinks  of  a  wife,  not  of  a  holiday  partner  who  may 
come  into  his  living  in  a  contract  of  expenditure.  He  believes 
in  woman  according  to  God's  own  idea,  looks  to  her  as  an  angel 
of  help,  who  may  join  herself  to  him,  and  go  down  the  rough 
way  of  life  as  it  is,  to  strengthen  him  in  it  by  her  sympathy,  and 
gild  its  darkness,  if  dark  it  must  be,  by  the  light  of  her  patience 
and  the  constancy  of  her  devotion.  The  main  difference  is,  that 
the  romance  comes  out  at  the  end  and  was  not  all  expended  at 
the  beginning. 

The  close  necessities  of  these  more  primitive  days  connected 
many  homely  incidents  with  marriage,  which,  however,  rather 
heighten  the  picturesque  simplicity  than  disparage  the  beauty  of 
its  attractions.  The  question  of  the  outfit,  the  question  of  ways 
and  means,  the  homely  prudence  pulling  back  the  heroics  of 
faith  and  passion,  only  to  make  them  more  heroic  at  last ;  all 
these  you  will  readily  imagine. 

I  suppose  many  of  my  audience  may  have  heard  of  the  dis- 
tinguished Christian  minister,  still  living  in  the  embers  of  extreme 
old  age,  who  came  to  the  point,  not  of  a  flight  in  the  winter,  but 


DISCOURSE.  119 


of  marriage,  and  partly  by  reason  of  the  Revolution  then  in  pro- 
gress, could  find  no  way  to  obtain  the  necessary  wedding  suit. 
Whereupon,  the  young  woman's  benevolent  mother  had  some  of 
her  sheep  sheared  and  sewed  up  in  blankets  to  keep  them  from 
perishing  with  cold,  that  the  much  required  felicity  might  be 
consummated. 

But  the  schools, — we  must  not  pass  by  these,  if  we  are  to  form 
a  truthful  and  sufficient  picture  of  the  homespun  days.  The 
school-master  did  not  exactly  go  round  the  district  to  fit  out  the 
children's  minds  with  learning,  as  the  shoe-maker  often  did  to  fit 
their  feet  with  shoes,  or  the  tailors  to  measure  and  cut  for  their 
bodies  ;  but,  to  come  as  near  it  as  possible,  he  boarded  round  (a 
custom  not  yet  gone  by,)  and  the  wood  for  the  common  fire,  was 
supplied  in  a  way  equally  primitive,  viz. :  by  a  contribution  of 
loads  from  the  several  families,  according  to  their  several  quan- 
tities of  childhood.  The  children  were  all  clothed  alike  in 
homespun ;  and  the  only  signs  of  aristocracy  were,  that  some 
were  clean  and  some  a  degree  less  so,  some  in  fine  white  and 
striped  linen,  some  in  brown  tow  crash  ;  and,  in  particular,  as  I 
remember,  with  a  certain  feeling  of  quality  I  do  not  like  to 
express,  the  good  fathers  of  some  testified  the  opinion  they  had 
of  their  children,  by  bringing  fine  round  loads  of  hickory  wood 
to  warm  them,  while  some  others,  I  regret  to  say,  brought  only 
scanty,  scraggy,  ill-looking  heaps  of  green  oak,  white  birch,  and 
hemlock.  Indeed,  about  all  the  bickerings  of  quality  among  the 
children,  centered  in  the  quality  of  the  wood  pile.  There  was 
no  complaint,  in  those  days,  of  the  want  of  ventilation ;  for  the 
large  open  fire-place  held  a  considerable  fraction  of  a  cord  of 
wood,  and  the  windows  took  in  just  enough  air  to  supply  the 
combustion.  Besides,  the  bigger  lads  were  occasionally  ventil- 
ated, by  being  sent  out  to  cut  wood  enough  to  keep  the  fire  in 
action.  The  seats  were  made  of  the  outer  slabs  from  the  saw- 
mill, supported  by  slant  legs  driven  into  and  a  proper  distance 
through  augur  holes,  and  planed  smooth  on  the  top  by  the  rather 
tardy  process  of  friction.  But  the  spelling  went  on  bravely,  and 
we  ciphered  away  again  and  again,  always  till  we  got  through 
Loss  and  Gain.  The  more  advanced  of  us,  too,  made  light 
work  of  Lindley  Murray,  and  went  on  to  the  parsing,  finally,  of 


120  DISCOURSE. 


extracts  from  Shakspeare  and  Milton,  till  some  of  us  began  to 
think  we  had  mastered  their  tough  sentences  in  a  more  consequen- 
tial sense  of  the  term  than  was  exactly  true.  0, 1  remember, 
(about  the  remotest  thing  I  can  remember,)  that  low  seat,  too 
high,  nevertheless,  to  allow  the  feet  to  touch  the  floor,  and  that 
friendly  teacher  who  had  the  address  to  start  a  first  feeling  of 
enthusiasm  and  awaken  the  first  sense  of  power.  He  is  living 
still,  and  whenever  I  think  of  him,  he  rises  up  to  me  in  the  far 
back  ground  of  memory,  as  bright  as  if  he  had  worn  the  seven 
stars  in  his  hair.  (I  said  he  is  living ;  yes,  he  is  here  to  day, 
God  bless  him !)  How  many  others  of  you  that  are  here  as- 
sembled, recall  these  little  primitive  universities  of  homespun, 
where  your  mind  was  born,  with  a  similar  feeling  of  reverence 
and  homely  satisfaction.  Perhaps  you  remember,  too,  with  a 
pleasure  not  less  genuine,  that  you  received  the  classic  discipline 
of  the  university  proper,  under  a  dress  of  homespun,  to  be  grad- 
uated, at  the  close,  in  the  joint  honors  of  broadcloth  and  the 
.parchment. 

Passing  from  the  school  to  the  church,  or  rather  I  should  say, 
to  the  meeting-house — good  translation,  whether  meant  or  not, 
of  what  is  older  and  more  venerable  than  church,  viz.,  syna- 
gogue— here,  again,  you  meet  the  picture  of  a  sturdy  homespun 
worship.  Probably  it  stands  on  some  hill,  midway  between 
three  or  four  valleys,  whither  the  tribes  go  up  to  worship,  and, 
when  the  snow-drifts  are  deepest,  go  literally  from  strength  to 
strength.  There  is  no  furnace  or  stove,  save  the  foot-stoves  that 
are  filled  from  the  fires  of  the  neighboring  houses,  and  brought 
in  partly  as  a  rather  formal  compliment  to  the  delicacy  of  the 
tender  sex,  and  sometimes  because  they  are  really  wanted.  The 
dress  of  the  assembly  is  mostly  homespun,  indicating  only 
slight  distinctions  of  quality  in  the  worshippers.  They  are 
seated  according  to  age,  the  old  king  Lemuels  and  their  queens 
in  front,  near  the  pulpit,  and  the  younger  Lemuels  farther  back, 
enclosed  in  pews,  sitting  back  to  back,  impounded,  all,  for  deep 
thought  and  spiritual  digestion ;  only  the  deacons,  sitting  close 
under  the  pulpit,  by  themselves,  to  receive,  as  their  distinctive 
honor,  the  more  perpendicular  droppings  of  the  word.  Clean 
round  the  front  of  the  gallery  is  drawn  a  single  row  of  choir, 
headed  by  the  key-pipe,  in  the  centre.  The  pulpit  is  overhung 


DISCOURSE.  121 


by  an  august  wooden  canopy,  called  a  sounding-board — study 
general,  of  course,  and  first  lesson  of  mystery  to  the  eyes  of  the 
children,  until  what  time  their  ears  are  opened  to  understand  the 
spoken  mysteries. 

There  is  no  affectation  of  seriousness  in  the  assembly,  no  man- 
nerism of  worship  ;  some  would  say  too  little  of  the  manner  of 
worship.  They  think  of  nothing,  in  fact,  save  what  meets  their 
intelligence  and  enters  into  them  by  that  method.  They  appear 
like  men  who  have  a  digestion  for  strong  meat,  and  have  no  con- 
ception that  trifles  more  delicate  can  be  of  any  account  to  feed 
the  system.  Nothing  is  dull  that  has  the  matter  in  it,  nothing 
long  that  has  not  exhausted  the  matter.  If  the  minister  speaks 
in  his  great  coat  and  thick  gloves  or  mittens,  if  the  howling  blasts 
of  winter  blow  in  across  the  assembly  fresh  streams  of  ventilation 
that  move  the  hair  upon  their  heads,  they  are  none  the  less  con- 
tent, if  only  he  gives  them  good  strong  exercise.  Under  their 
hard  and,  as  some  would  say,  stolid  faces,  great  thoughts  are 
brewing,  and  these  keep  them  warm.  Free  will,  fixed  fate,  fore- 
knowledge absolute,  trinity,  redemption,  special  grace,  eternity — 
give  them  any  thing  high  enough,  and  the  tough  muscle  of  their 
inward  man  will  be  climbing  sturdily  into  it ;  and  if  they  go  away 
having  something  to  think  of,  they  have  had  a  good  day.  A  per- 
ceptible glow  will  kindle  in  their  hard  faces,  only  when  some  one 
of  the  chief  apostles,  a  Day,  a  Smith,  or  a  Bellamy,  has  come  to 
lead  them  up  some  higher  pinnacle  of  thought,  or  pile  upon  their 
sturdy  mind  some  heavier  weight  of  argument — fainting  never 
under  any  weight,  even  that  which,  to  the  foreign  critics  of  the 
discourses  preached  by  them  and  others  of  their  day,  it  seems 
impossible  for  any,  the  most  cultivated  audience  in  the  world,  to 
have  supported.  0,  these  royal  men  of  homespun,  how  great 
a  thing  to  them  was  religion  !  The  district  school  was  there,  the 
great  Bellamy  is  here,  among  the  highest  peaks  and  solitudes  of 
divine  government,  and  between  is  close  living  and  hard  work, 
and  they  are  kings  alike  in  all ! 

True  there  was  a  rigor  in  their  piety,  a  want  of  gentle  feeling ; 

their  Christian  graces  were  cast-iron  shapes,  answering  with  a 

hard  metallic  ring.     But  they  stood  the  rough  wear  of  life  none 

*  the  less  durably  for  the  excessive  hardness  of  their  temperament, 

kept  their  families  and  communities  none  the  less  truly,  though 


122  DISCOURSE. 


it  may  be  less  benignly,  under  the  sense  of  God  and  religion.  If 
we  find  something  to  modify,  or  soften,  in  their  over-rigid  notions 
of  Christian  living,  it  is  yet  something  to  know  that  what  we  are 
they  have  made  us,  and  that,  when  we  have  done  better  for  the 
ages  that  come  after  us,  we  shall  have  a  more  certain  right  to 
blame  their  austerities. 

Yiew  them  as  we  may,  there  is  yet,  and  always  will  be,  some- 
thing magnificent,  in  their  stern,  practical  fidelity  to  their  princi- 
ples. If  they  believed  it  to  be  more  scriptural  and  Christian  to 
begin  their  Sunday,  not  with  the  western,  but  with  the  Jewish 
and  other  eastern  nations,  at  the  sunset  on  Saturday,  their  prac- 
tice did  not  part  company  with  their  principles— it  was  sun  down 
at  sun  down,  not  somewhere  between  that  time  and  the  next 
morning.  Thus  I  remember  being  dispatched,  when  a  lad,  one 
Saturday  afternoon,  in  the  winter,  to  bring  home  a  few  bushels  of 
apples  engaged  of  a  farmer  a  mile  distant ;  how  the  careful,  exact 
man  looked  first  at  the  clock,  then  out  the  window  at  the  sun, 
and  turning  to  me  said,  "  I  can  not  measure  out  the  apples  in 
time  for  you  to  get  home  before  sundown,  you  must  come  again 
Monday  ;"  then  how  I  went  home,  venting  my  boyish  impatience 
in  words  not  exactly  respectful,  assisted  by  the  sun  light  playing 
still  upon  the  eastern  hills,  and  got  for  my  comfort  a  very  unac- 
countably small  amount  of  specially  silent  sympathy. 

I  have  never  yet  ascertained  whether  that  refusal  was  exactly 
justified  by  the  patriarchal  authorities  appealed  to,  or  not.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  have  what  opinion  of  it  you  will,  I  confess  to  you, 
for  one,  that  I  recall  the  honest,  faithful  days  of  homespun  repre- 
sented in  it,  days  when  men's  lives  went  by  their  consciences,  as 
their  clocks  did  by  the  sun,  with  a  feeling  of  profoundest  reve- 
rence. It  is  more  than  respectable — it  is  sublime.  If  we  find  a 
more  liberal  way,  and  think  we  are  safe  in  it,  or  if  we  are  actually 
so,  we  can  never  yet  break  loose  from  a  willing  respect  to  this 
inflexible,  majestic  paternity  of  truth  and  godliness. 

Regarding,  now,  the  homespun  age  as  represented  in  these 
pictures  of  the  social  and  religious  life,  we  need,  in  order  to  a  full 
understanding,  or  conception  of  the  powers  and  the  possibilities  of 
success  embodied  in  it,  to  go  a  step  farther ;  to  descend  into  the 
practical  struggle  of  common  life,  and  see  how  the  muscle  of  en- 
ergy and  victory  is  developed,  under  its  close  necessities. 


DISCOURSE.  123 


The  sons  and  daughters  grew  up,  all,  as  you  will  perceive,  in 
the  closest  habits  of  industry.     The  keen  jockey  way  of  whittling 
out  a  living  by  small  bargains  sharply  turned,  which  many  sup- 
pose to  be  an  essential  characteristic  of  the  Yankee  race,  is  yet 
no  proper  inbred  distinction,  but  only  a  casual  result,  or  incident, 
that  pertains  to  the  transition  period  between  the  small,  stringent 
way  of  life  in  the  previous  times  of  home-production,  and  the 
new  age  of  trade.    In  these  olden  times,  these  genuine  days  of 
homespun,  they  supposed,  in  their  simplicity,  that  thrift  repre- 
sented work,  and  looked  about  seldom  for  any  more  delicate  and 
sharper  way  of  getting  on.     They  did  not  call  a  man's  property 
his  fortune,  but  they  spoke  of  one  or  another  as  being  ivortli  so 
much  ;  conceiving  that  he  had  it  laid  up  as  the  reward  or  fruit  of 
his  deservings.     The  house  was  a  factory  on  the  farm,  the  farm 
a  grower  and  producer  for  the  house.     The  exchanges  went  on 
briskly  enough,  but  required  neither  money,  nor  trade.    No  affec- 
tation of  polite  living,  no  languishing  airs  of  delicacy  and  soft- 
ness in  doors,  had  begun  to  make  the  fathers  and  sons  impatient 
of  hard  work  out  of  doors,  and  set  them  at  contriving  some  easier 
and  more  plausible  way  of  living.     Their  very  dress  represented 
work,  and  they  went  out  as  men  whom  the  wives  and  daughters 
had  dressed  for  work  ;  facing  all  weather,  cold  and  hot,  wet  and 
dry,  wrestling  with  the  plow  on  the  stony-sided  hills,  digging  out 
the  rocks  by  hard  lifting  and  a  good  many  very  practical  experi- 
ments in  mechanics,  dressing  the  flax,  threshing  the  rye,  dragging 
home,  in  the  deep  snows,  the  great  wood  pile  of  the  year's  con- 
sumption ;  and  then,  when  the  day  is  ended,  having  no  loose 
money  to  spend  in  taverns,  taking  their  recreation,  all  together, 
in  reading,  or  singing,  or  happy  talk,  or  silent  looking  in  the  fire, 
and  finally  in  sleep — to  rise  again,  with  the  sun,  and  pray  over 
the  family  Bible  for  just  such  another  good  day  as  the  last.    And 
so  they  lived,  working  out,  each  year,  a  little  advance  of  thrift, 
just  within  the  line  of  comfort. 

The  picture  still  holds,  in  part,  though  greatly  modified  by  the 
softened  manner  of  in-door  life,  and  the  multiplied  agencies  of 
emigration,  travel,  trade  and  machinery.  It  is,  on  the  whole,  a 
hard  and  over-severe  picture,  and  yet  a  picture  that  embodies 
the  highest  points  of  merit,  connects  the  noblest  results  of  charac- 
ter. Out  of  it,  in  one  view,  come  all  the  successes  we  commemo- 
rate on  this  festive  occasion. 


124  DISCOURSE 


No  mode  of  life  was  ever  more  expensive  ;  it  was  life,  at  the 
expense  of  labor  too  stringent  to  allow  the  highest  culture  and 
the  most  proper  enjoyment.  Even  the  dress  of  it  was  more  ex- 
pensive than  we  shall  ever  see  again.  Still  it  was  a  life  of  hon- 
esty and  simple  content  and  sturdy  victory.  Immoralities,  that 
rot  down  the  vigor  and  humble  the  consciousness  of  families, 
were  as  much  less  frequent,  as  they  had  less  thought  of  adven- 
ture, less  to  do  with  travel,  and  trade,  and  money,  and  were 
closer  to  nature  and  the  simple  life  of  home. 

If  they  were  sometimes  drudged  by  their  over-intense  labor, 
still  they  were  kept  by  it  in  a  generally  rugged  state,  both  of  body 
and  mind.  They  kept  a  good  digestion,  which  is  itself  no  small 
part  of  a  character.  The  mothers  spent  their  nervous  impulse 
on  their  muscles,  and  had  so  much  less  need  of  keeping  down 
the  excess,  or  calming  the  unspent  lightning,  by  doses  of 
anodyne.  In  the  play  of  the  wheel,  they  spun  fibre  too,  within, 
and  in  the  weaving,  wove  it  close  and  firm.  They  realized,  to 
the  full,  the  poet's  picture  of  the  maiden,  who  made  a  robust, 
happy  life  of  peace,  by  the  industry  of  her  hands. 

"  She  never  feels  the  spleen's  imagined  pains, 
Nor  melancholy  stagnates  in  her  veins ; 
She  never  loses  life  in  thoughtless  ease, 
Nor  on  the  velvet  couch  invites  disease  ; 
Her  homespun  dress,  in  simple  neatness  lies, 
And  for  no  glaring  equipage  she  sighs ; 
No  midnight  masquerade  her  beauty  wears, 
And  health,  not  paint,  the  fading  bloom  repairs." 

Be  it  true,  as  it  may,  that  the  mothers  of  the  homespun  age 
had  a  severe  limit  on  their  culture  and  accomplishments.  Be  it 
true  that  we  demand  a  delicacy  and  elegance  of  manners  impos- 
sible to  them,  under  the  rugged  necessities  they  bore.  Still  there 
is,  after  all,  something  very  respectable  in  good  health,  and  a 
great  many  graces  play  in  its  look  that  we  love  to  study,  even 
if  there  be  a  little  of  "per-durable  toughness"  in  their  charms. 
How  much  is  there,  too,  in  the  sublime  motherhood  of  health ! 
Hence  come,  not  always,  I  know,  but  oftenest,  the  heroes  and 
the  great  minds  gifted  with  volume  and  power  and  balanced  for 


DISCOURSE.  125 


the  manly  virtues  of  truth,  courage,  persistency,  and  all  sorts  of 
victory. 

It  was  also  a  great  point,  in  this  homespun  mode  of  life,  that 
it  imparted  exactly  what  many  speak  of  only  with  contempt,  a 
closely  girded  habit  of  economy.  Harnessed,  all  together,  into 
the  producing  process,  young  and  old,  male  and  female,  from  the 
boy  that  rode  the  plough-horse,  to  the  grandmother  knitting  under 
her  spectacles,  they  had  no  conception  of  squandering  lightly 
what  they  all  had  been  at  work,  thread  by  thread,  and  grain  by 
grain,  to  produce.  They  knew  too  exactly  what  every  thing  cost, 
even  small  things,  not  to  husband  them  carefully.  Men  of  patri- 
mony in  the  great  world,  therefore,  noticing  their  small  way  in 
trade,  or  expenditure,  are  ready,  as  we  often  see,  to  charge  them 
with  meanness — simply  because  they  knew  things  only  in  the 
small ;  or,  what  is  not  far  different,  because  they  were  too  simple 
and  rustic,  to  have  any  conception  of  the  big  operations,  by 
which  other  men  are  wont  to  get  their  money  without  earning  it, 
and  lavish  the  more  freely  because  it  was  not  earned.  Still  this 
knowing  life  only  in  the  small,  it  will  be  found,  is  really  any  thing 
but  meanness. 

Probably  enough  the  man  who  is  heard  threshing  in  his  barn 
of  a  winter  evening,  by  the  light  of  a  lantern,  (I  knew  such  an 
example,)  will  be  seen  driving  his  team  next  day,  the  coldest  day 
of  the  year,  through  the  deep  snow  to  a  distant  wood  lot,  to  draw 
a  load  for  a  present  to  his  minister.  So  the  housewife  that  hig- 
gles for  a  half  hour  with  the  merchant  over  some  small  trade,  is 
yet  one  that  will  keep  watch,  not  unlikely,  when  the  school-master, 
boarding  round  the  district,  comes  to  some  hard  quarter,  and 
commence  asking  him  to  dinner,  then  to  tea,  then  to  stay  over 
night,  and  literally  boarding  him,  till  the  hard  quarter  is  passed. 
Who  now,  in  the  great  world  of  money,  will  do,  not  to  say  the 
same,  as  much,  proportionally  as  much,  in  any  of  the  pure  hos- 
pitalities of  life  ? 

Besides,  what  sufficiently  disproves  any  real  meanness,  it  will 
be  found  that  children  brought  up,  in  this  way,  to  know  things  in 
the  small,  what  they  cost,  and  what  is  their  value,  have,  in  just 
that  fact,  one  of  the  best  securities  of  character  and  most  certain 
elements  of  power  and  success  in  life.  Because  they  expect  to 
get  on  by  small  advances  followed  up  and  saved  by  others,  not 


126  DISCOURSE. 


by  sudden  leaps  of  fortune  that  despise  the  slow  but  surer  methods 
of  industry  and  merit.  When  the  hard,  wiry-looking  patriarch 
of  homespun,  for  example,  sets  off  for  Hartford,  or  Bridgeport,  to 
exchange  the  little  surplus  of  his  year's  production,  carrying  his 
provision  with  him  and  the  fodder  of  his  team,  and  taking  his 
boy  along  to  show  him  the  great  world,  you  may  laugh  at  the 
simplicity,  or  pity,  if  you  will,  the  sordid  look  of  the  picture ; 
but,  five  or  ten  years  hence,  this  boy  will  like  enough  be  found  in 
College,  digging  out  the  cent's  worths  of  his  father's  money  in 
hard  study ;  and  some  twenty  years  later,  he  will  be  returning, 
in  his  honors,  as  the  celebrated  Judge,  or  Governor,  or  Senator 
and  public  orator,  from  some  one  of  the  great  States  of  the 
republic,  to  bless  the  sight  once  more  of  that  venerated  pair  who 
shaped  his  beginnings,  and  planted  the  small  seeds  of  his  future 
success.  Small  seeds,  you  may  have  thought,  of  meanness;  but 
now  they  have  grown  up  and  blossomed  into  a  large-minded  life, 
a  generous  public  devotion,  and  a  free  benevolence  to  mankind. 

And  just  here,  I  am  persuaded,  is  the  secret,  in  no  small 
degree,  of  the  very  peculiar  success  that  has  distinguished  the 
sons  of  Connecticut  and,  not  least,  those  of  Litchfield  County,  in 
their  migration  to  other  States.  It  is  because  they  have  gone 
out  in  the  wise  economy  of  a  simple,  homespun  training,  expect- 
ing to  get  on  in  the  world  by  merit  and  patience,  and  by  a 
careful  husbanding  of  small  advances  ;  secured  in  their  virtue, 
by  just  that  which  makes  then*  perseverance  successful.  For  the 
men  who  see  the  great  in  the  small,  and  go  on  to  build  the  great 
by  small  increments,  will  commonly  have  an  exact  conscience 
too  that  beholds  great  principles  in  small  things,  and  so  will 
from  a  character  of  integrity,  before  both  God  and  man,  as 
solid  and  massive  as  the  outward  successes  they  conquer.  The 
great  men  who  think  to  be  great  hi  general,  having  yet  nothing 
great  in  particular,  are  a  much  more  windy  affair. 

It  is  time  now  that  I  should  draw  my  discourse,  already  too  far 
protracted,  to  a  close.  Some  of  you,  I  suppose,  will  hardly  call 
it  a  Sermon.  I  only  think  it  very  faithfully  answers  to  the  text, 
or  rather  to  the  whole  chapter  from  which  the  text  is  taken ;  and 
that  sometimes  we  get  the  purest  and  most  wholesome  lessons  of 
Christian  fidelity,  by  going  a  little  way  back  from  matters  of 


DISCOURSE.  127 


spiritual  experience,  carrying  the  wise  Proverbs  with  us,  to  look 
on  the  prudentials  of  the  world  of  prudence  and  watch  the 
colors  that  play  upon  the  outer  surfaces  of  life  and  its  common 
affairs. 

I  have  wished,  in  particular,  to  bring  out  an  impression  of  the 
unrecorded  history  of  the  times  gone  bye.  We  must  not  think 
on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  that  the  great  men  have  made  the 
history.  Rather  is  it  the  history  that  has  made  the  men.  It  is 
the  homespun  many,  the  simple  Christian  men  and  women  of  the 
century  gone  by,  who  bore  their  life-struggle  faithfully,  in  these 
vallies  and  among  these  hills,  and  who  now  are  sleeping  in  the 
untitled  graves  of  Christian  worth  and  piety.  These  are  they 
whom  we  are  most  especially  to  honor,  and  it  is  good  for  us  all 
to  see  and  know,  in  their  example,  how  nobly  fruitful  and  be- 
neficent that  virtue  may  be,  which  is  too  common  to  be  distin- 
guished, and  is  thought  of  only  as  the  worth  of  unhistoric  men. 
Worth  indeed  it  is,  that  worth  which,  being  common,  is  the  sub- 
structure and  the  prime  condition  of  a  happy,  social  state,  and 
of  all  the  honors  that  dignify  its  history — worth,  not  of  men  only, 
but  quite  as  much  of  women  ;  for  you  have  seen,  at  every  turn 
of  my  subject,  how  the  age  gone  by  receives  a  distinctive  char- 
acter from  the  queens  of  the  distaff  and  the  loom,  and  their 
princely  motherhood.  Let  no  woman,  imagine  that  she  is  with- 
out consequence,  or  motive  to  exceUence,  because  she  is  not  con- 
spicuous. Oh,  it  is  the  greatness  of  woman  that  she  is  so  much 
like  the  great  powers  of  nature,  back  of  the  noise  and  clatter  of 
the  world's  affairs,  tempering  all  things  with  her  benign  influence 
only  the  more  certainly  because  of  her  silence,  greatest  in  her 
beneficence  because  most  remote  from  ambition,  most  forgetful 
of  herself  and  fame ;  a  better  nature  in  the  world  that  only  waits 
to  bless  it,  and  refuses  to  be  known  save  in  the  successes  of 
others,  whom  she  makes  conspicuous  ;  satisfied  most,  in  the 
honors  that  come  not  to  her,  that  "  Her  husband  is  known  in  the 
gates,  when  he  sitteth  among  the  elders  of  the  land." 

Assembled  here,  now,  as  we  are,  from  all  parts  of  this  great 
country,  most  of  us  strangers  heretofore  to  each  other,  it  is  yet 
our  common  joy  and  pride  that  so  many  of  you  return  from  sta- 
tions of  honor,  which  are  the  tokens  of  your  success,  appearincr 
among  us  in  names  to  which  you  have  added  weight  and  luster 


128  DISCOURSE. 


abroad,  and  so  reflected  praise  on  the  home  of  your  nativity  and 
nurture.  Our  welcome  to  you  is  none  the  less  hearty,  none  the 
less  grateful  I  am  sure  to  you,  that  we  give  you  not  all  the  credit 
of  your  successes.  We  distinguish  in  you  still  the  seeds  you  car- 
ried away.  We  congratulate  you,  we  honor  those  who  made  you 
what  you  are.  Or  if  we  say  that  we  honor  you,  we  bow  our 
heads  in  reverence  to  those  fathers  and  mothers  less  distin- 
guished in  name,  it  may  be,  and  those  virtues  of  common  life  and 
industry  which  have  yielded  us  both  you  and  all  the  social 
honors  we  rejoice  in,  on  this  festive  occasion.  In  this  latter  sen- 
timent I  think  you  will  join  me,  wishing,  if  possible,  to  escape 
the  remembrance  of  yourselves,  and  pay  some  fit  honors  to  the 
majesty  of  worth,  in  a  parentage  ennobled  in  yourselves  and 
sanctified  by  the  silence  of  the  places  where  they  are  resting  from 
their  labors.  It  will  be  strange,  too,  when  your  minds  are  soft- 
ened by  these  tender  remembrances,  if  your  thoughts  do  not  recur 
instinctively,  to  what  is  the  tenderesfc  of  all  sentiments,  that  which 
remembers  the  lessons  and  the  gentle  cares  of  a  faithful  mother- 
hood. Then  let  this  voice  of  nature  speak,  and  let  the  inward 
testimony  of  our  hearts'  feeling  hail  the  witness  of  the  concourse 
here  assembled,  as  a  welcome  and  sublime  fulfillment  of  the 
word — "  Her  children  arise  up  and  call  her  blessed."  Or  if  we 
exult,  as  we  must,  in  reviewing  the  honors  that  have  crowned  the 
one  century  of  our  simple  history  as  a  people,  let  our  joy  be  a 
filial  sentiment,  saying  still,  in  the  triumphant  words  that  close  our 
song — "  Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands,  and  let  her  own, 
works  praise  her  in  the  gates  " ! 

Men  and  women  of  Litchfield  County,  such  has  been  the  past ; 
a  good  and  honorable  past !  We  give  it  over  to  you — the  future 
is  with  you.  It  must,  we  know,  be  different,  and  it  will  be  what 
you  make  it.  Be  faithful  to  the  sacred  trust  God  is  this  day 
placing  in  your  hands. 

One  thing,  at  least,  I  hope ;  that,  in  these  illustrations  I  have 
made  some  just  impression  on  you  all  of  the  dignity  of  work. 
How  magnificent  an  honor  it  is,  for  the  times  gone  by,  that  when 
so  many  schemes  are  on  foot,  as  now,  to  raise  the  weak  ;  when 
the  friends  of  the  dejected  classes  of  the  world  are  proposing 
even  to  reorganize  society  itself  for  their  benefit,  trying  to  hu- 
manize punishments,  to  kindle  hope  in  disability,  and  nurse 


DISCOURSE.  129 


depravity  into  a  condition  of  comfort — a  distinction  how  mag- 
nificent ! — that  our  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  century  past  had, 
in  truth,  no  dejected  classes,  no  disability,  only  here  and  there 
a  drone  of  idleness,  or  a  sporadic  case  of  vice  and  poverty ; 
excelling,  in  the  picture  of  social  comfort  and  well-being  actually 
realized,  the  most  romantic  visions  of  our  new  sefers.  They 
want  a  reorganization  of  society! — something  better  than  the 
Christian  gospel  and  the  Christian  family  state  ! — some  commu- 
nity in  hollow-square,  to  protect  them  and  coax  them  up  into  a 
life  of  respect,  and  help  them  to  be  men !  No,  they  did  not 
even  so  much  as  want  the  patronage  of  a  bank  of  savings,  to 
encourage  them  and  take  the  wardship  of  their  cause.  They 
knew  how  to  make  their  money,  and  how  to  invest  it,  and  take 
care  of  it,  and  make  it  productive  ;  how  to  build,  and  plant,  and 
make  sterility  fruitful,  and  conquer  all  the  hard  weather  of  life. 
Their  producing  process  took  everything  at  a  disadvantage  ;  for 
they  had  no  capital,  no  machinery,  no  distribution  of  labor,  noth- 
ing but  wild  forest  and  rock ;  but  they  had  mettle  enough  in 
their  character  to  conquer  their  defects  of  outfit  and  advantage. 
They  sucked  honey  out  of  the  rock,  and  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock. 
Nay,  they  even  seemed  to  want  something  a  little  harder  than 
nature  in  her  softer  moods  could  yield  them.  Their  ideal  of  a 
Goshen  they  sought  out,  not  in  the  rich  alluvion  of  some  fertile 
Nile,  but  upon  the  crest  of  the  world,  somewhere  between  the 
second  and  third  heaven  where  Providence  itself  grows  cold, 
and  there,  making  warmth  by  their  exercise  and  their  prayers, 
they  prepared  a  happier  state  of  competence  and  wealth,  than 
the  Goshen  of  the  sunny  Nile  ever  saw.  Your  condition  will 
hereafter  be  softened,  and  your  comforts  multiplied.  Let  your 
culture  be  as  much  advanced.  But  let  no  delicate  spirit  that 
despises  work,  grow  up  in  your  sons  and  daughters.  Make 
these  rocky  hills  smooth  their  faces  and  smile  under  your  indus- 
try. Let  no  absurd  ambition  tempt  you  to  imitate  the  manners 
of  the  great  world  of  fashion,  and  rob  you  thus  of  the  respect  and 
dignity  that  pertain  to  manners  properly  your  own.  Maintain, 
above  all,  your  religious  exactness.  Think  what  is  true,  and  then 
respect  yourselves  in  living  exactly  what  you  think.  Fear  God 
and  keep  his  commandments,  as  your  godly  fathers  and  mothers 


130 


DISCOURSE. 


did  before  you,  and  found,  as  we  have  seen,  to  be  the  beginning 
of  wisdom.  As  their  graves  are  with  you,  so  be  that  faith  in 
God  which  ennobled  their  lives  and  glorified  their  death,  an  in- 
heritance in  you,  and  a  legacy  transmitted  by  you  to  your  chil- 
dren. 


LETTEKS, 

ADDRESSES,   SPEECHES, 


AND 


Cnnrlttitittg 


AFTER  Music  from  the  Band,  the  following  letters  of  apology 
for  non-attendance,  from  gentlemen  residing  in  other  States,  na- 
tives of  the  County,  addressed  to  the  Central  Committee,  -were 
read  to  the  audience  by  George  C.  Woodruff,  Esq. 

From  Junius  Smith,  Esq.,  LL.  D.,  of  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  the  original  projector  of  At- 
lantic Steam  Navigation— a  native  of  Plymouth:— 

G-REENVILLE,  S.  C.,  July  22d,  1851. 
Gentlemen : — 

I  received  yesterday,  the  Litchfield  Circular  of  March  22d, 
you  were  kind  enough  to  send  me.  I  have  not  seen  a  single  Con- 
necticut newspaper  since  I  have  resided  in  South  Carolina,  and 
therefore  could  have  no  knowledge  that  any  such  meeting  was  in 
contemplation.  It  would  afford  me  singular  pleasure  to  be  present 
at  the  celebration  proposed,  but  my  Tea  labors,  at  this  season  of 
the  year,  will  not  admit  of  my  absence,  and  I  am,  with  great  re- 
luctance, compelled  to  forego  the  gratification. 

Pray  remember  me  kindly  to  those  who  survive  the  vicissitudes 
of  nearly  half  a  century. 

Tour  obedient  servant, 

JUNIUS  SMITH. 

Seth  P.  Beers,  Esq.,  and  others  of  the  Central  Committee  of  tie 
Centennial  Celebration  of  the  County  of  Litchfield,  Con- 
necticut. 

9 


134  LETTERS. 


From  Hon.  Elisha  Whittlesey,  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury  Department,  Washington— a  na- 
tive of  Washington  in  this  County. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  COMPTROLLER'S  ) 
OFFICE,  August  7th,  1851.  \ 

Gentlemen : — 

Your  Circular  of  March  22cl,  giving  notice  that  a  Centennial 
Celebration  of  the  County  of  Litchfield  would  be  held  at  Litch- 
field,  on  the  13th  and  14th  of  this  month,  was  duly  received. 

Until  recently,  I  intended  to  have  been  present,  and  during  my 
visit,  to  have  entered  for  the  last  time  the  house  in  New  Preston, 
in  which  I  was  born ;  to  have  sought  for  the  associates  of  my 
childhood,  if  any  survive  ;  to  have  visited  the  graves  of  my  ances- 
tors and  relatives  there,  at  Salisbury,  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
State  ;  to  have  seen  again  my  surviving  sister  and  brother,  and 
other  dear  relatives  and  friends  ;  to  have  listened  to  the  address 
of  Judge  Church,  the  poem  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pierpont,  and  the 
sermon  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bushnell — which  will  be  worthy  of  the 
occasion,  and  of  the  gentlemen  selected.  But  circumstances,  be- 
yond my  control,  deny  me  the  enjoyment  of  my  anticipations. 

Fidelity — unyielding  fidelity  in  all  business,  and  in  every  trust, 
was  enjoined  upon  me  by  my  parents,  in  early  childhood,  and  by 
that  eminent  divine  and  Christian,  Jeremiah  Day.  I  can  not 
leave  here,  to  attend  the  Centennial  Celebration,  to  which,  by  your 
kindness,  I  am  invited,  without  violating  what  I  deem  to  be  my 
duty  to  the  public.  I  say  this  with  the  deepest  regret,  for  I  had 
fondly  cherished  the  hope,  I  should  add  one  to  the  number  of  the 
assemblage. 

Most  sincerely  and  respectfully  yours, 

ELISHA  WHITTLESEY. 
Messrs.  Seth  P.  Beers,  &c. 


From  Hon.  George  B.  Holt,  late  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Ohio,  and  State  Senator— for- 
merly of  Norfolk,  Connecticut. 

DAYTON,  OHIO,  August  6th,  1851. 
Gentlemen : — 

I  received  your  letter  of  invitation  to  attend  your  Centennial 
Celebration,  to  be  held  on  the  13th  and  14th  inst. ;  and  antici- 
pated, with  some  hope,  until  to-day,  the  pleasure  of  being  with 


LETTERS.  135 


you  on  the  occasion;  more  especially,  as  I  have  a  venerable 
father,  rising  four  score  and  ten  years,  also  brothers,  sisters, 
and  other  relatives,  still  living  in  your  County.  My  desire  to 
visit  ray  native  State  and  County,  is  strengthened  by  the  super- 
added  invitation  of  several  valued  friends,  from  whom  I  have  re- 
ceived letters  of  a  complimentary  character. 

Gentlemen,  for  any  respectability  which  may  have  attached  to 
my  name,  and  for  any  usefulness  of  which  I  may  have  been  instru- 
mental, I  am  indebted  to  the  institutions  of  ISTew  England,  as 
they  exist  in  Litchfield  County ;  instruction  in  childhood  by  one 
of  the  pious  mothers  of  that  land,  followed  by  such  advantages  as 
were  afforded  by  the  common  school,  and  a  professional  education 
in  the  Law  School  at  Litchfield,  when  under  the  direction  of 
Judges  Reeve  and  Gould,  now  deceased. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  supposed,  that  during  a  period  of  more 
than  twenty  years  in  public  life,  eighteen  of  those  years  in  the 
Legislative  and  Judicial  departments  of  the  government,  followed 
by  a  membership  in  the  Convention  which  formed  the  constitu- 
tion of  civil  government  lately  adopted  in  Ohio,  I  may  have 
"  made  my  mark,"  as  we  say  in  the  west — left  some  impress  of 
New  England  institutions  upon  the  character,  morals,  and  man- 
ners of  the  mixed  population  with  whom  I  have  resided  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  So  far  as  I  may  have  done  so,  I  feel  that  I 
have  done  some  good  in  my  day  and  generation. 

Gentlemen,  I  am  among  the  sons  of  New  England,  proud  of 
the  genuine  Yankee  character,  proud  of  their  industrious  habits, 
their  honesty,  their  intelligence,  their  enterprise,  and  that  con- 
trolling sense  of  religious  obligation,  which  make  up  the  character 
of  New  Englanders. 

I  pray  you,  gentlemen,  to  accept,  for  yourselves  and  those 
whom  you  represent,  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  kind  invitation, 
and  let  me  take  leave  of  you  by  expressing  a  wish,  deep  from  the 
heart,  for  your  prosperity  and  happiness. 

Truly  yours, 

GEO.  B.  HOLT. 
Hon.  Seth  P.  Beers,  and  others,  Committee. 


136  LETTEKS. 


From  Hon.  Julius  Rockwell,  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  late  member  of  Congress— a  native  of 
Colebrook. 

PITTSFIELD,  MASS.,  August  llth,  1851. 
My  Dear  Sir : — 

I  have  received  the  Circular  of  the  Committee,  informing  the 
native  citizens  of  the  good  County  of  Litchfield,  of  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  Centennial  Anniversary.  I  have  cherished  the  hope, 
until  now,  of  being  present,  but  circumstances  which  I  can  not 
control,  will  prevent  my  attendance. 

The  fact,  that  I  am  a  native  of  that  County,  is  a  source  of  an 
honest  pride  and  gratification  to  me.  It  would  give  me  the  great- 
est pleasure  to  be  present  on  this  interesting  occasion,  to  listen  to 
the  sentiments  of  the  eminent  men  who  are  to  address  the  citi- 
zens, and  emigrants  from  the  County,  to  enjoy  the  society  of  my 
relatives  and  friends,  and  to  make  new  acquaintances. 

I  can  only  express  a  sincere  and  ardent  hope,  that  every  cir- 
cumstance attending  your  celebration  may  be  propitious,  and  that 
to  all  present,  the  occasion  may  be  full  of  interest  and  enjoyment. 

Those  of  us,  who  are  compelled  to  be  absent,  will  look  with 
great  interest  for  the  published  accounts  of  the  proceedings.  We 
shall  be  with  you  in  spirit,  upon  the  occasion,  and  will  not  fail, 
as  long  as  we  live,  to  cherish  sentiments  of  affectionate  respect 
for  the  noble  County  of  our  nativity. 

With  my  best  respects  to  yourself  and  your  associates  upon  the 
Committee, 

I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

JULIUS  ROCKWELL. 
William  Beebe,  Esq.,  Litchfield,  Ct. 


From  Orsamus  Busunell,  of  New  York— a  native  of  Salisbury. 

NEW  YORK,  August  12th,  1851. 
Dear  Sir : — 

I  have  received  a  kind  invitation  to  attend  the  celebration  at 
Litchfield,  on  the  13th  and  14th  inst.,  and  had  made  my  arrange- 
ments to  attend,  and  am  at  the  last  moment  sadly  disappointed 
by  the  occurrence  of  professional  business  which  will  prevent  my 
attendance.  I  should  rejoice  to  be  with  you,  but  as  I  can  not, 


LETTERS.  137 

permit  me  to  forward  a  sentiment — to  be  used,  or  not,  as  you 
may  please. 

My  native  State. — If  the  people  do  not,  may  Heaven  preserve 
it  from  a  "  Code  of  Procedure,"  and  its  Judiciary  from  the 
Polls.  Very  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

ORSAMUS  BUSHNELL. 
Hon.  Samuel  Church. 


From  Charles  J.  Hill,  Esq.,  of  Rochester,  former  Mayor  of  that  City— a  native  of  Bethlem. 

CITY  OF  ROCHESTER,  Aug:  4th,  1851. 
G-entlemen : — 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  invita- 
tion to  attend  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  Litchfield  County. 
I  exceedingly  regret  that  my  onerous  business  engagements  must 
prevent  my  attendance  ;  but,  although  "  absent  in  body,  I  shall 
be  present  in  spirit,'"  and  when  the  day  arrives,  shall  find  my 
soul  fired  with  a  thousand  recollections  of  the  localities  and 
scenes  of  my  childhood. 

It  is  now  thirty-five  years  since  I  commenced  my  permanent 
residence  in  this  city,  an  adventurer  from  my  native  Litchfield 
County.  At  that  time,  this  city,  now  numbering  over  forty 
thousand  inhabitants,  contained  three  hundred  souls.  No 
churches,  no  public  buildings — except  one  school-house  of  very 
diminutive  dimensions,  in  which  was  the  only  meeting  on  the 
Sabbath — no  brick  or  stone  dwellings,  nor  the  luxury  of  paint 
yet  applied  to  any  of  the  few  crude  wooden  dwellings.  But  a 
few  young  New  Englanders  had  marked  the  spot,  and  their 
indomitable  enterprise  gave  significant  indications  of  the  future 
importance  of  Rochester. 

Among  the  early  Pioneers  of  Rochester,  the  sons  of  Litch- 
field County  were  not  only  respectable  in  numbers,  but  in  point 
of  enterprise  and  moral  icorth,  they  were  generally  men  of  whom 
their  native  County  need  not  be  ashamed,  and  are  now  enjoying 
the  highest  esteem  of  their  fellow  citizens. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  J.  HILL. 
Hon.  Seth  P.  Beers,  Jonathan  Lee,  and  others,  Central  Com. 


138  LETTERS. 

From  Augustin  Averill,  of  New  York— a  native  of  Washington. 

NEW  YORK,  August  9th,  1851.    « 
Gentlemen : — 

I  have  received  the  Circular  forwarded  some  time  since,  and 
it  was  my  intention,  had  circumstances  permitted,  to  have  at- 
tended the  Centennial  Celebration  at  Litchfield,  on  the  13th  and 
14th  inst.,  but  finding  it  impossible  to  do  so  in  person,  I  will, 
through  your  Committee,  in  writing,  join  my  sympathies  and 
good  feelings  with  my  friends,  relatives,  and  other  inhabitants  of 
my  loved  native  County,  and  unite  with  them  in  congratulations 
on  the  auspicious  event ;  very  much  regretting  my  inability  to 
meet,  rejoice,  and  give  thanks  with  them  on  this  very  interesting 
occasion. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

AUGUSTIN  AVERILL. 
Hon.  Seth  P.  Beers,  Jonathan  Lee,  and  others,  Central  Com. 


From  Gen.  James  R.  Lawrence,  of  Syracuse,  United  States  Attorney,  for  the  Northern  Dis- 
trict of  New  York,  a  native  of  Norfolk. 

SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  August  llth,  1851. 
Dear  Sir : — 

I  received  your  letter  of  the  31st  July,  by  due  course  of  mail, 
and  have  delayed  an  answer  till  this  time,  in  the  hope  that  I 
should  be  able  to  attend  the  Centennial  celebration  at  Litchfield, 
to  which  you,  as  one  of  the  Committee,  have  so  kindly  invited 
me.  I  now  find  that  my  duties  as  United  States  Attorney,  for 
this  District,  will  prevent  my  attendance,  which  I  very  much 
regret. 

It  always  give  me  pleasure  to  visit  my  native  State,  and 
and  especially  the  town  (old  Norfolk)  and  County  where  I  was 
born,  but  that  pleasure  would  be  greatly  enhanced  could  I  unite 
with  the  sons  of  that  time  honor'd  County,  many  of  whom  are 
now  scattered  over  the  different  States  of  the  Union,  on  the 
occasion  referred  to. 

I  shall  be  with  you  in  spirit.  I  can  easily  imagine  the  happy 
state  of  feeling  which  such  an  occasion  will  call  forth  among  such 


LETTERS.  139 


a  generation  of  men ;  born  and  brought  up  in  such  a  place,  many 
of  whom,  I  trust,  inherit  the  sterling  virtues  of  their  ancestors. 
Methinks  I  can  also  anticipate  some  of  the  topics  which  will  there 
be  discussed.  The  first  emotion  should  be  that  of  devout  thank- 
fulness, for  that  preserving  mercy  which  has  spared  the  lives  and 
health  of  so  many,  and  enabled  them,  from  various  parts  of  the 
country,  to  revisit  their  native  County,  the  land  of  their  fathers' 
sepulchres,  on  such  an  occasion. 

Gratitude  for  the  intellectual,  moral  and  physical  training, 
which  our  fathers  gave  us  in  our  childhood  and  youth,  will  doubt- 
less be  felt  by  all. 

The  prominent  characteristics  of  our  ancestors,  were  economy, 
frugality,  industry,  and  energy ;  and  these,  they  taught  their 
children,  which  laid  the  foundation,  in  the  first  place,  for  good 
physical  constitutions,  without  which,  little  can  be  accomplished. 
And  most  favorably,  I  apprehend,  will  the  hardy  sons  of  Litch- 
field  County,  compare  with  any  other  race  of  men  in  this  respect. 

I  almost  tremble  sometimes,  when  I  see  so  many  young  men 
at  this  day,  growing  up  in  luxury,  extravagance,  and  indolence, 
and  as  a  natural  consequence,  with  impaired  health  and  weak 
intellects  ; — better  a  thousand  fold,  go  back  to  the  simplicity  of 
former  times,  when  every  man  lived  within  his  income,  and 
taught  his  children  that  labor  was  not  only  necessary,  but  hon- 
orable for  all. 

The  interests  of  our  common  country,  cannot  fail  to  be  a  sub- 
ject for  serious  reflection  on  the  occasion.  One  hundred  years 
ago,  your  County  was  incorporated.  What  wonderful  changes 
have  taken  place  in  that  time,  and  what  trying  scenes  did  our 
ancestors  pass  through  !  Their  energy  and  patriotism,  however, 
Avere  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  nobly  did  they  sustain  the  best 
interests  of  their  country  ; — lovers  of  law  and  lovers  of  order : 
always  to  be  relied  upon,  under  all  circumstances. 

However  much  they  may  have  differed  as  to  questions  of  policy 
in  the  administration  of  the  Government,  yet  ever  true  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  whole  country, — ready  to  sustain  the  arm  of 
the  government  in  maintaining  the  rights  and  honor  of  the  nation. 
It  cannot  be  disguised  that  our  country,  within  a  short  period, 
has  passed  a  ciisis,  which,  at  one  time,  was  full  of  danger. 
Questions  of  a  most  delicate  character,  and  about  which  men, 


140  LETTERS. 


and  even  wise  men,  differed  in  opinion,  were  discussed  with  great 
freedom,  and  sometimes  with  much  bitterness';  yet  we  may  now 
congratulate  ourselves  on  a  settlement  of  these  exciting  questions, 
without  impairing  our  glorious  Constitution,  and  without  injustice 
to  any  portion  of  our  country :  and  although  we  may  not  all 
think  that  every  thing  has  been  done  as  we  could  wish,  yet  we 
have  great  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  restoration  of  that  fraternal 
feeling  among  the  great  mass  of  our  people  in  all  parts  of  our 
beloved  country,  which  has  resulted  from  the  recent  measures  of 
our  national  government. 

Already  do  we  feel  their  tranquilizing  effect,  and  if  faithfully 
carried  out,  we  may  still  look  for  long  years  of  continued  pros- 
perity and  happiness  as  a  nation,  under  our  glorious  Constitution. 
I  hold  it  to  be  the  first  duty  of  every  good  citizen,  to  obey  the 
laws  of  the  government.  Why  should  he  not  ?  every  man  is  a 
part  of  that  government  in  this  country,  where  all  power  is  vested 
in  the  people.  I  think  we  may  rely  with  confidence  upon  the 
staid  men  of  old  Litchfield,  wherever  they  are,  to  maintain  the 
laws — whenever  the  time  shall  come,  when  the  laws  of  the  land 
are  set  at  defiance  by  the  people,  we  shall  have  no  government 
at  all.  All  will  be  anarchy  and  confusion. 

In  this  connection  I  cannot  refrain  from  alluding  to  an  honored 
son  of  old  Litchfield,  who  will  be  with  you  at  your  Jubilee.  I 
refer  to  the  Hon.  Daniel  S.  Dickinson  of  this  State.  I  know 
him  well ;  have  been  associated  with  him  in  the  Legislature  of 
this  State ;  and  although  we  have  always  differed  politically,  yet 
it  gives  me  pleasure  to  bear  testimony  to  his  integrity,  talents, 
and  patriotism  :  and  when  I  speak  of  his  patriotism,  I  speak  of 
it  in  that  enlarged  sense  which  embraces  the  whole  Union,  and 
consists  in  a  zealous  support  and  defence  of  it  and  its  interests. 
I  have  seen  him  on  great  occasions  shake  off  the  shackles  of 
party,  and  come  to  the  rescue  of  his  country,  regardless  of  all 
personal  considerations.  In  what  I  have  said  of  him,  I  feel  that 
I  am  only  doing  simple  justice  to  a  political  opponent. 

I  should  like  to  indulge  in  referring  to  some  of  the  individuals 
of  other  times,  who  have  lived  and  died  in  your  good  old  County, 
but  who  have  now  gone  to  their  rest  and  their  reward,  not,  how- 
ever, without  leaving  their  impress  upon  the  institutions  where 
they  lived,  and  upon  the  character  of  those  they  left  behind  ; 


LETTERS.  141 


this,  however,  can  be  better  done  by  those  wh©  have  had  better 
opportunity  to  know  their  worth  and  excellence  than  I  have. 

Old  Litchfield,  I  love  thee !  What  other  County  in  the  whole 
Union  has  produced  abler  divines,  lawyers,  patriots,  or  states- 
men ?  What  county  has  produced  a  hardier  or  more  intelligent 
race  of  farmers  ?  It  has  indeed  been  a  nursery  from  which  have 
been  scattered  broadcast  through  the  Union,  men  who,  carrying 
with  them  the  energy  they  inherited,  the  industry  they  learned 
to  practice,  and  the  morality  of  their  sires,  have  been  useful 
citizens  and  done  honor  to  the  place  of  their  birth.  Inhabitants 
of  old  Litchfield,  you  have  not  yet  fulfilled  your  destiny  ;  go  on 
in  the  walks  of  usefulness,  keep  steadily  in  view  the  example  of 
your  ancestors  ;  let  their  piety,  their  intelligence,  their  energy, 
their  patriotism,  their  temperance,  their  sterling  virtues,  be  your 
guide  and  example,  and  when  another  Centennial  Jubilee  shall 
occur,  may  our  posterity  have  the  same  reasons  for  gratitude 
which  we  BOW  have,  and  less  to  regret.  So  may  it  be.  Esto 
perpetua.  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  R.  LAWRENCE. 
R.  Battell,  Esq. 


From  Theron  R.  Strong,  Esq.,  of  Palmyra,  New  York,  late  member  of  Congress — a  native 

qf  Salisbury. 

PALMYRA,  August  8th,  1851. 
G-entlemen : — 

I  regret  to  have  to  inform  you  that  the  severe  illness  of  my 
children  renders  it  imperative  upon  me  to  relinquish  my  purpose 
of  attending  the  Centennial  Celebration,  at  Litchfield,  on  the 
13th  and  14th  inst.  Until  within  a  few  days  past  I  have  con- 
fidently expected  to  attend,  and  had  nearly  completed  my  ar- 
rangements for  so  doing.  No  ordinary  circumstances  would 
have  been  allowed  to  defeat  my  intention,  but  I  must  yield  to 
the  Providential  interposition  named. 

The  celebration  has  been  looked  forward  to,  by  me,  with  very 
great  interest.  I  have  desired  to  embrace  the  opportunity  to 
testify,  by  my  presence  and  participation  in  its  proceedings,  my 
continued  affection  for  the  Town,  County,  and  State  of  my  birth, — 


142  LETTERS. 


that  neither  time  nor  distance  nor  new  attachments  have  been 
able  to  sever  my  love  from  the  place  of  mj  origin  and  the  home 
of  my  childhood.  I  have  anticipated,  on  that  occasion,  the  rich 
pleasure  of  meeting  again  some  of  my  kindred,  many  of  the 
associates  of  my  early  years,  many  valued  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, and  reviving  and  meeting  some  of  the  most  interesting 
associations  and  recollections  of  my  youth.  I  have  also  antici- 
pated, what  will  no  doubt  be  there  afforded,  a  rich  intellectual  as 
well  as  social  entertainment ;  one  calculated  to  improve  the  minds 
as  well  as  gladden  the  hearts  of  all  present. 

Nothing  could  be  more  proper  than  this  celebration.  It  will 
be  but  a  just  tribute  of  respect  and  regard  for  the  County — a 
suitable  acknowledgement  for  the  virtue,  intelligence,  good  order, 
prosperity  and  happiness  which  have  there  always  prevailed.  No 
community  has  been  more  largely  blessed  in  those  respects,  none 
has  ever  existed,  whose  history  in  those  particulars  is  more  bright 
or  honorable.  Even  in  New  England,  to  which  our  country  is  so 
largely  indebted  for  its  renown ; — it  occupies  a  proud  position  and 
enjoys  an  honorable  fame.  It  is  right  to  stop  at  this  point  in 
its  progress — the  termination  of  the  first  and  the  commencement 
of  the  second  century  of  its  existence,  and  take  a  survey  of  it  in 
the  past,  to  review  its  leading  features  and  events — to  render  ap- 
propriate honors  to  those  who  participated  in  them,  and  indulge 
in  the  congratulations  which  such  a  survey  is  calculated  to  in- 
spire. 

In  such  a  retrospect,  abundant  cause  for  gratitude  and  praise  on 
the  part  of  those  who  reside,  or  were  reared  there,  will  at  every 
step  be  brought  to  view.  Providence  has  most  highly  favored 
the  County.  Its  early  settlers  were  remarkable  men.  Like 
their  brethren,  who,  associated  with  them,  founded  New  England 
and  gave  it  all  the  elements  of  its  greatness,  they  were  men  of 
strong  moral  and  religious  principle — men  of  cultivated  minds — 
men  of  industrious  and  frugal  habits — full  of  enterprise  and  per- 
severance. They  established  and  set  in  motion  and  gave  direc- 
tion to  a  state  of  society,  singularly  perfect.  Their  own  charac- 
ter they  impressed  upon  their  descendants.  The  result  has  been 
that  the  County  has  long  been  the  happy  home  of  a  large  popu- 
lation, intelligent,  virtuous,  refined,  possessing  in  an  unusual 
degree,  pecuniary  independence,  and  all  the  privileges,  social, 


LETTERS.  143 


moral,  educational,  and  religious,  which  can  promote  the  benefit 
and  happiness  of  a  community.  Amid  its  magnificent  scenery, 
surrounded  by  happy  influences,  and  enjoying  the  advantages 
there  afforded,  have  been  trained  numerous  sons  and  daughters, 
who  have  emigrated  to  other  portions  of  the  country,  most  of 
whom  have  been  prosperous  and  successful  in  whatever  business 
they  engaged.  Many  of  them  have  attained  high  distinc- 
tion and  great  usefulness.  Go  where  you  may  over  this  extend- 
ed Union,  and  we  rarely  fail  to  find  some  of  them  occupying  re- 
spectable positions  and  bearing  prominent  parts  in  society. 

It  is  to  their  early  education,  and  those  influences  and  advan- 
tages that  these  emigrants  are  largely  indebted  for  whatever  they 
have  accomplished.  A  broad  foundation  was  thereby  laid  for 
their  prosperity,  usefulness  and  honor.  This,  in  respect  to  most 
of  them,  constituted  their^  sole  inheritance,  and  their  career  has 
illustrated  that  such  an,  inheritance  is  immeasurably  superior  to 
any  other. 

Twenty-five  years  have  now  elapsed  since  I  emigrated  from 
the  town  of  Salisbury,  where  I  was  born,  during  which  period  I 
have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Although 

O 

proud  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  Empire  State,  and  deeply  attached 
to  its  honor  and  prosperity,  and  having  reason  to  be  grateful  for 
favors  I  have  experienced  in  the  community  where  I  reside,  I  am 
also  proud  of  the  State  of  my  nativity,  and  especially  of  the 
County  and  town  of  my  birth,  and  bear  towards  them  a  regard 
and  affection  which  will  last  through  my  life.  With  my  native 
town,  are  identified  many  of  the  most  interesting  remembrances 
and  associations  of  the  past.  It  is  still  the  residence  of  some  of 
my  early  friends,  and  of  a  few  of  my  beloved  kindred.  There  are 
the  graves  of  my  parents,  and  of  many  friends  and  relatives. 

In  connection  with  this  reference  to  my  native  town,  I  must,  in 
justice  to  my  own  feelings,  briefly  allude  to  two  valued  friends, 
now  in  their  graves,  who  emigrated  from  it  shortly  previous  to 
myself,  who  were  long  inhabitants  with  me  of  the  County  where 
I  reside,  pursuing  like  myself  the  practice  of  the  law; — Graham 
H.  Chapin  and  John  M.  Holley.  They  were  men  of  talent,  of 
education,  of  many  noble  and  excellent  qualities,  and  an  orna- 
ment to  their  profession  and  society.  I  shall  ever  cherish  their 
memories  with  affection  and  pride. 


144  LETTEKS. 


Again  expressing  my  regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  the 
celebration,  and  tendering  my  acknowledgments  for  the  honor  of 
the  invitation  which  has  been  extended  to  me,  I  am, 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

T.  R.  STRONG. 
To  Rev.  Jonathan  Lee  and  others,  Committee  of  Salisbury. 


From  Ebenezer  W.  Bolles,  of  Delphi,  Ind.,  a  native  of  Litchfield. 

DELPHI,  IA.,  August  8th,  1851. 
To  the  Committee  of  the  Town  of  Litchfield : — 

Happening  by  chance  to  see  the  circular  addressed  to  all  who 
had  emigrated  from  the  County  of  Litchfield,  to  attend  a  Cen- 
tennial meeting  at  its  County  seat,  and  some  remarks  thereon,  my 
heart  warmed  to  be  with  you,  to  see  and  hear  you  relate  what  our 
fathers  were  and  what  they  have  done  for  us,  their  children ;  to 
again  bring  up  before  our  eyes  those  honorable  fathers  who  be- 
queathed to  us,  their  children,  all  they  had  that  was  of  real  value. 
What  was  it  they  left  us  ?  was  it  riches  ?  It  has  vanished  aw  . 
Was  it  poverty?  It  has  turned  into  riches,  to  again  vanish. — 
Was  it  honor  ?  was  it  liberty  ?  was  it  love  of  country  ?  was  it  love 
of  our  religious  institutions,  and  its  privileges  ?  was  it  love  of  our 
God  ?  Yes,  that  which  our  fathers  received  from  their  fathers — 
that  which  God  in  his  mercy  gave  them,  and  enabled  them  to 
keep — that  which  is  better  than  riches,  than  gold  or  silver — that 
which  the  more  it  is  used,  the  greater  it  grows — that  which  ex- 
tends its'  influence  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  bids  fair 
to  still  spread,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  throughout  the  world : — it 
was  that  which  proceeds  from  Him — that  which  He  enabled  our 
fathers  to  defend — that  which  they  cherished  as  their  best  gift, 
and  that  which  I  hope  their  sons,  wherever  they  are,  will  ever  re- 
member to  keep  and  transmit  to  their  descendants. 

Methinks  I  see  that  old  man,  with  cocked  hat,  breeches,  knee 
buckles,  shoe  buckles  broad  as  my  hand,  with  staff  in  hand ;  and1 
now  I  see  that  old  lady,  with  large  calash-bonnet,  red  cloak,  high- 
heeled  shoes,  stays,  etc. ; — now  she  is  on  horseback,  behind  her 
husband,  with  a  large  velvet  pillion ;  now,  there  are  all  the  little 


LETTERS.  145 


bo ys,  hats  off,  ready  to  bow  to  age  and  honor ;  there,  the  little  girls 
have  stepped  out  of  the  path,  ready  with  a  courtesy : — there  goes 
that  old  man  and  woman — they  are  town  poor ;  they,  too,  are 
honored,  and  their  descendants  are  as  likely  to  be  as  honorable  as 
the  rich  man's.  The  blood  that  goes  from  the  heart  goes  through 
all  the  members  from  the  head  to  the  foot,  and  from  the  foot  again 
to  the  head,  and  then  again  through  the  heart ; — all  are  honorable 
members  in  their  place,  and  all  contribute  more  or  less  to  keep 
and  Continue  that  love  of  those  institutions  which  they  have  re- 
ceived from  Him  who  first  gave  it  to  our  fathers.  It  may  degen- 
erate and  grow  sickly  in  some  members,  but  it  is  again  renovated, 
and  now  flourishes.  May  all  those  who  have  descended  from  such 
noble  stock,  never  forget  their  birthright,  but  wherever  they  are, 
still  cherish  and  keep  it  pure.  May  the  memory  of  our  fathers 
ever  be  blessed. 

E.  W.  BOLLES. 

P.  S.  Oh,  what  a  crowd  there  is  of  those  same  old  people; 
they  are  without  number ;  like  Jacob's  ladder  they  extend  from 
earth  to  heaven ! 


ames 


From  Amos  Seward,  of  Tallmadge,  Ohio, — a  native  of  Warren  ;  enclosing  a  list  of  the  nam 
of  sixty-one  persons,  natives  of  Litchfield  County,  now  living  in  the  town  of  Tallmadge. 

TALLMADGE,  OHIO,  August  5th,  1851. 
Gentlemen : — 

I  shall  make  no  apology  for  addressing  you  on  the  present 
occasion.  Your  century  celebration,  about  the  middle  of  the 
present  month,  will  be  interesting  to  all  that  may  meet  with  you. 
Presuming  that  you  would  be  gratified  to  know  the  number  who, 
by  birth,  were  citizens  of  Litchfield  County,  and  are  now  located 
in  every  State  of  the  Union,  I  have,  at  some  pains,  collected  the 
names,  together  with  the  date  of  their  birth  and  date  of  their 
leaving  your  County,  of  those  now  living  in  this  township,  Tall- 
mad ge — named  after  one  of  your  prominent  citizens,  Col.  Benja- 
min Tallmadge.  late  of  your  place.  The  township  is  five  miles 
square,  and  was  first  settled  by  Rev.  David  Bacon,  father  of  Rev. 
Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.,  in  the  year  1806.  Possibly  there  may 


146  MEETING  AT  HIGHLAND. 

be  some  inaccuracy  in  the  date  of  their  birth,  and  of  their  leaving 
the  County. 

Should  any  one  say,  that  none  of  this  list  have  shone  con- 
spicuous in  science,  military  or  politics,  I  would  reply  that,  nei- 
ther have  we  in  crime.     Our  criminal  courts  have  never  been 
troubled  with  those  from  your  County,  settled  in  this  township. 
We  aim  to  be  an  industrious  and  law-abiding  people. 
I  close  by  giving  the  following  sentiment. 
The  citizens  of  Litchfield  County  in  the  coming  century ;  may 
they  faithfully  copy  the  virtues,  and  carefully  shun  the  errors  of 
their  predecessors. 

The  enclosed  list  contains  the  names  of  sixty-one  persons,  all 
natives  of  Litchfield  County,  now  residing  in  the  single  township 
of  Tallmadge,  Ohio. 

Respectfully  yours, 

AMOS  SEWARD. 

Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  Century  Celebration  in  Litch- 
field County. 


MEETING  AT  HIGHLAND. 

PROCEEDINGS  of  a  meeting  of  residents  of  the  town  of  Rich- 
land,  in  the  County  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  who  emigrated 
from  Litchfield  County,  were  next  read : — 

At  a  meeting  of  those  citizens  of  the  township  of  Richland,  in 
the  County  of  Kalamazoo,  and  State  of  Michigan,  who  emigrated 
from  the  County  of  Litchfield,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  held 
at  Richland,  the  8th  of  August,  1851,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring a  statement  to  be  presented  at  the  Centennial  Celebration, 
to  be  held  in  Litchfield,  on  the  13th  and  14th  of  August : 

On  motion,  Samuel  Woodruff  was  chosen  Chairman,  and  Eli 
R.  Miller,  Secretary. 

Whereupon,  the  following  49  persons,  heads  of  families,  citi- 
zens of  the  town  of  Richl  nd,  and  emigrants  from  said  County 
of  Litchfield,  were  found  now  to  reside  in  this  place ;  together 
with  their  98  children  and  109  grand-children.* 

*  The  list  of  names  are  omitted. 


MEETING    AT    RICHLAND.  147 

On  motion, 

Resolved,  That  we  would  ardently  desire  personally  to  attend 
the  Jubilee,  to  be  held  on  the  13th  and  14th,  in  the  land  of  our 
fathers  and  County  of  our  birth,  and  that  we  do  hereby  appoint 
and  constitute  E.  R.  Miller,  Esq.,  our  representative  in  said 
convention. 

SAMUEL  WOODRUFF,   Moderator. 

E.  R.  MILLER,  Secretary. 
RICHLAND,  August  8th,  1851. 


SPEECH  OF  HON.  D.  S.  DICKINSON. 


THE  President  then  introduced  the  Hon.  DANIEL  S.  DICKINSON,  late 
Senator  in  Congress  from  New  York,  a  native  of  Goshen,  who  addressed  the 
audience  as  follows  : — 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES,  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — 

FEW  recollections,  indeed,  are  of  deeper  or  holier  interest,  than 
those  associated  with  the  home  of  our  childhood.  When  the 
mind,  like  the  Patriarch's  dove,  seeks  repose  from  its  wanderings, 
and  returns  to  the  place  of  its  nativity,  how  many  emotions  rise 
up  where  pleasing,  painful  memories  struggle  for  the  empire  of 
the  heart !  How  is  the  perilous  journey  of  life,  from  its  cloud- 
less morning,  with  its  joys  and  sorrows,  its  lights  and  shadows, 
its  smiles  and  tears,  made  to  pass  in  rapid  yet  serene  review 
before  us.  The  pa"rts  we  have  severally  been  called  to  act  upon 
the  great  theatre  of  life, — the  relations  we  have  formed  and  the 
bereavements  we  have  experienced,  all  rush  hi  with  their  attend- 
ing joys  and  sorrows  and  swell  the  heart  too  full  for  utterance. 
I  am  proud  to  boast  myself  a  native  of  the  town  of  Goshen,  in 
this  County,  though  removed  to  another  state  by  the  varying 
currents  of  fortune,  while  still  a  child.  Yet,  by  the  favor  of. 
Him,  "  who  doeth  all  things  well,"  I  have  been  permitted,  after 
forty-four  years  absence,  to  stand  upon  the  threshold  of  what 
was  once  my  happy  home,  and  to  realize  the  imaginings  of  poetic 
beauty  in — 

"  The  orchard,  the  meadow,  the  deep-tangled  wild-wood, 
And  every  lov'd  scene,  which  my  infancy  knew." 

The  emotion  which  the  occasion  inspired,  deepened  by  pecu- 
liar circumstances,  are  too  sacred  to  pass  beyond  the  heart  where 
10 


150  SPEECH. 

they  were  so  painfully  felt,  and  the  fragment  of  the  little  domestic 
circle  who  lived  and  loved  upon  that  cherished  spot,  and  are  yet 
of  earth.*  We  have  assembled  here,  my  friends,  in  obedience 
to  one  of  the  strongest  laws  of  our  nature, — one  of  the  best  and 
loftiest  impulses  of  the  human  heart.  When  we  have  attained 
the  meridian  of  life,  and  see  age  approaching,  though  yet  in  the 
distance — when  the  passions  and  impulses  are  subdued  and 
chastened — when  we  cease  to  believe  that  the  "  deficiencies  of 
the  present  day  will  be  supplied  by  to-morrow,"  and  Hope,  that 
terrestrial  charmer,  no  longer  promises  her  after-growth  of  joy, 
we  turn  with  a  feeling  of  devotion  which  the  heart  has  never 
before  experienced,  to  cherish  that  holy  love  of  home  which  God, 
for  benevolent  purposes,  has  established  in  the  deep  well-springs 
of  the  heart, — to  repose  our  head,  throbbing  with  the  busy  cares 
of  life,  upon  which  time,  perchance,  has  written  his  untimely 
furrows,  like  a  wayward  child,  upon  that  pure  and  holy  altar  of 
domestic  love — a  mother's  knee — saying  in  the  language  of  a 
native  poet— - 

"  Oft  from  life's  withered  bower, 
In  sad  communion  with  the  past  I  turn, 
And  muse  on  thee,  the  only  flower, 
In  memory's  urn." 

The  children  of  New  England,  of  which  this  State,  and  espe- 
cially this  County,  has  furnished  her  full  and  honorable  share, 
have  been  thrown  broad-cast  upon  the  great  battle-field  of  life, 
where  they  have  been  pre-eminently  distinguished  for  their 
practice  of  the  sterner  virtues  of  manhood,  and  their  disregard 
of  ease,  indolence,  and  sensual  enjoyment.  Though  pro- 
•  verbial  for  religious  veneration,  and  their  devotion  to  religious 
observances,  they  have  never  been  idle  waiters  upon  Providence, 
but  have  acted  upon  the  suggestion  of  Frederick  the  Great,  who 
declared  that,  Heaven  always  favored  the  course  of  the  best 
disciplined  troops  !  But  the  excellencies  of  our  common  mother, 
have  been  too  truthfully  portrayed  by  others,  to  permit  one 
further  word  of  eulogy.  Her  sterling  virtues  have  been  traced 
in  sober  narrative,  and  her  brow  garlanded  with  the  choicest 

*  Mr.  Dickinson  received  intelligence  at  the  celebration  that  an  elder  brother  was  dying. 


SPEECH.  151 

specimens  of  poetry  and  eloquence,  which  modern  times  can 
furnish.  All  that  is  left  me,  is  to  cast  my  humble  chaplet  at 
her  feet,  and  to  declare  that,  though  she  has  many  sons  who 
can  bring  her  choicer  offerings,  she  has  none  who  love  her  more. 
From  the  life-like  delineations  of  the  New  England  character, 
in  the  inimitable  productions  to  which  we  have  listened,  we  have 
seen  that  it  is  no  extravagance  to  say  that  her  sons  have  virtually 
climbed  every  hill-side,  threaded  every  mountain-pass,  explored 
every  valley,  fathomed  every  cave,  analyzed  every  mineral,  classed 
every  plant  and  shrub,  and  "  wrung  their  shy,  retiring  virtues 
out,"  passed  over  every  lake  and  river,  and  navigated  every  sea ; 
they  lasso  the  wild  horse  of  the  Pacific  border  with  the  Indian 
hunter,  gallop  by  the  side  of  the  natives  upon  the  ponies  of  the 
Pampas,  and  are  first  and  last  in  the  mines  of  California.  Nor 
is  their  enterprise  confined  to  one  element  alone,  but  they  pur- 
sue with  success  the  monsters  of  the  deep,  and  achieve  that 
which  in  the  days  of  the  patient  but  afflicted  Idumean  was  re- 
garded so  formidable,  and  draw  out  leviathan  with  a  hook.  In 
short,  such  is  their  manly  independence  and  characteristic  self- 
reliance,  that  if  cast  naked  and  helpless  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Ganges,  instead  of  becoming  objects  of  charity  or  commisera- 
tion, they  would  be  sure  to  gain  a  livelihood  and  accumulate 
wealth,  by  furnishing  fuel  for  the  Hindoo  Suttees  by  contract. 
And  what,  it  may  well  be  enquired,  is  the  secret  power  by  which 
they  move  the  moral,  and  change  the  face  of  the  natural  world  ? 
It  is  knowledge, — knowledge,  industry,  and  virtue.  What  enables 
one  hundred  thousand  Englishmen,  in  India,  to  cast  down  the 
temples,  overthrow  the  idols,  uproot  the  heathenism,  and  play  the 
tyrant  and  tax-gatherer  over  seventy  millions  of  savage  black- 
heads, glittering  in  barbaric  wealth,  abounding  in  all  the  terrible 
elements  of  war,  and  burning  with  wild  ferocity  to  expel  the 
intruders  from  their  soil  ?  Alas !  with  all  their  natural  elements 
of  power  the  answer  is  given  in  this  : — 

"  Cut  knowledge  to  their  e)res  her  ample  page, 
Rich  with  the  spoils  of  time,  did  ne'er  reveal." 

Connecticut  has  sent  forth  her  children,  armed  with  a  good 
common  school  education,  which,  like  the  battle  blade  of  Fitz 


152  SPEECH. 

James,  the  Saxon,  has  heen  both  "sword  and  shield,"  and 
carved  out  for  them  success  wherever  it  has  pleased  Providence 
to  cast  their  lot.  But  it  is  not  to  the  success  of  ordinary  temporal 
enterprise,  or  the  accumulation  of  material  wealth  alone,  that  its 
benefits  have  been  limited.  Its  teachers  and  those  who  minister 
in  holy  things,  have  been  forth  upon  ffoeir  mission  of  light 
throughout  the  habitable  globe.  It  has  gone  down  to  the  cottage 
of  the  lowly  and  abject,  and  led  its  humble  inmates,  if  deserving, 
to  the  most  distinguished  stations.  It  has  triumphed  in  the  halls 
of  legislation,  and  shed  a  lustre  upon  the  pathway  of  the  most 
illustrious  of  its  votaries.  By  its  light  our  mothers,  sisters,  and 
daughters  have  fixed  their  gentle  yet  mighty  impress  upon  our 
social  structure,  as  noiseless  as  the  dews  of  evening  fall  upon  the 
vegetable  world,  and  have  adorned  it  with  all  that  is  virtuous, 
refined,  and  elevated.  It  has  served  to  bind  together,  in  ties  of 
amity  and  interest,  in  singleness  of  heart  and  sympathy  of  soul, 
a  great  family  of  states,  whose  hearts  throb  responsive  to  the 
pulsations  of  liberty  throughout  the  world, — glowing,  like  beacon 
lights  upon  the  mountain,  to  warn  mankind  of  the  dangers  of 
ambition  and  despotism,  and  to  beckon  them  onward,  through 
liberty  and  intelligence  to  the  temple  gates  of  happiness  and 
peace. 

The  sons  of  New  England  who  have  participated  in  this  sys- 
tem of  popular  beneficence,  comprise  a  large  class  in  the  Empire 
State,  which  has  generously  adopted  them  as  her  own,  and  cast 
her  choicest  laurels  upon  some  of  the  most  humble  ;  they  mingle 
numerously  with  the  staid  and  sturdy  yeomanry  of  the  Keystone  ; 
they  brush  the  earliest  dew-drops  from  the  vast  prairies  of  the 
West,  and  mingle  their  voices  with  the  hum  of  the  Pacific's  waves. 
In  the  sunny  South  they  stand  "like  men  "—high  minded  men — 
like  men  who  know  their  rights,  and  knowing,  dare  maintain, 
invoking  the  constitution  as  the  ark  of  their  political  safety,  and 
guarding  their  own  institutions,  as  the  vestals  preserved  the 
sacred  fire.  And  they  all,  whether  from  the  north,  the  south, 
the  east,  or  the  west,  love,  with  the  deep,  pure,  gushing  love  of 
sinless  childhood,  their  dear  native  New  England  still ; — love  to 
gaze  upon  her  cloud-cap'd  hills,  her  fadeless  sky,  her  sunny  slopes, 
her  smiling  vales,  her  laughing  streams ;  and  to  contemplate, 
with  filial  reverence,  the  condition  of  her  refined,  joyous,  and 


SPEECH.  153 

happy  people.  But  the  institutions  from  which  these  blessings, 
under  a  beneficent  Providence,  spring,  are  not  ours  to  sport  with, 
jeopard,  or  destroy.  We  hold  them  in  sacred  trust,  during  the 
pleasure  of  Him  who  conferred  it,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
shall  come  after  us,  to  guard  and  preserve  at  the  cost  of  life, 
fortune,  and  honor.  The  states  of  this  confederacy  were  united 
to  "form  a  more  perfect  union, — establish  justice,  insure  do- 
mestic tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote 
the  general  welfare,  and  ensure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  our  posterity."  In  a  few  years,  we  who  are 
assembled  here  shall  all  be  laid  in  the  dust.  When  we  go  hence, 
we  shall  separate,  many  of  us  for  years — most  of  us  forever ; 
but  the  same  blue  heavens  and  beauteous  earth  will  be  here ;  the 
same  rugged  hills  will  remain,  and  the  same  streams  will  dance 
along  as  merrily  as  now,  at  the  music  of  their  own  rippling. 
Our  children  and  children's  children  will  be  here,  too,  for  weal 
or  for  woe, — basking  in  the  sun-light  of  our  heaven-favored  free- 
dom, invigorated,  perfected,  and  beautified  by  the  tests  of  time 
and  experience, .  or  torn  by  the  conflicts  of  rival  states,  and 
despoiled  by  domestic  violence. 

Oh!  what  modern  Erostratus  shall  seek  to  hand  down  an 
execrable  name  to  undying  infamy,  by  raising  his  parricidal 
hand  against  institutions  such  as  these.  Are  we  not  all  brethren 
of  one  tie  upon  this  great  question,  which  so  Jdeeply  concerns 
our  integrity  and  being  ?  Let  us,  then,  by  all  the  bright  memo- 
ries of  the  past,  by  the  present  fruition,  by  hope  of  the  future, 
by  the  spirits  of  just  patriots  made  perfect,  invoke  all  to  pre- 
serve, entire,  a  fountain  from  which  so  much  goodness  flows. 


SPEECH  OF  HON.  A.  J.  PARKER. 


Hon.  AMASA  J.  PARKER,  of  Albany,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
New  York,  a  native  of  Sharon,  was  next  called  upon,  and  addressed  the 
meeting. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  : — 

WE  have  come  from  afar,  to  revisit  the  graves  of  our  fathers 
and  the  homes  of  our  childhood.  The  sentiment  that  prompts  us 
lies  deep  in  the  human  heart.  It  is  akin  to  that  which  impels 
the  faithful  mussulman  to  visit  the  tomb  of  the  Prophet,  and  urges 
the  pious  pilgrim  on  his  way  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  We  stand 
among  the  weather-beaten  tombs  of  the  Puritans.  Our  memories 
recall  their  stern  virtues,  their  devoted  patriotism,  their  indomita- 
ble perseverance.  Who  is  not  proud  of  such  an  ancestry  ?  We 
are  indeed  upon  sacred  ground.  Our  tongues  refuse  to  give 
utterance  to  the  emotions  that  swell  our  hearts,  and  to  the  recol- 
lections that  crowd  our  memories. 

We  have  been  wanderers  from  our  early  homes.  In  the  great 
living  tide  of  emigration,  we  have  been  borne  onward  to  other 
States  and  other  lands,  seeking  our  fortunes  among  strangers, 
mingling  in  all  the  exciting  and  busy  and  various  scenes  of  life  ; 
and  now,  after  many — many  long  years  of  absence,  we  turn  our 
faces  once  more  towards  the  place  of  our  birth.  We  come  to 
greet  with  delight  those  so  long  separated  from  us, — to  gather 
around  the  ancient  hearth-stone, — to  rejoice  in  the  remembrance 
of  early  associations, — to  recount  the  various  adventures  of  our 
lives,  and  to  pay  a  sad  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
departed.  Can  any  pilgrimage  be  more  sacred  than  tflis  ? 

The  homes  of  our  childhood !  Our  hearts  throb  at  the  mention 
of  it.  Among  all  the  labors,  successes  and  reverses  of  life,  it 
has  been  a  green  spot  in  our  memories.  It  was  the  proof-impres- 


156  SPEECH. 

sion  of  early  life — ever  distinct — ever  bright — ineffaceable.  We 
think  of  it  with  love  and  gratitude,  and  with  a  feeling  of  reverence 
that  belongs  only  to  sacred  things.  The  home  of  our  childhood  ! 

"  Where'er  I  roam,  whatever  realms  I  see, 
My  heart  untraveled  fondly  turns  to  thee." 

We  think  of  it — we  dream  of  it — we  return  to  it.  It  is  still 
home — in  miniature.  The  fields,  the  buildings,  the  rooms,  seemed 
much  larger  to  our  childish  vision,  and  we  recollect  them  as  tiny 
seemed  to  us  then.  That  was  then  our  world,  and  of  course  it 
seemed  large  to  us.  We  gaze  at  them,  and  their  proportions 
change.  Yes — they  are  indeed  the  same.  They  are  old  friends, 
silent  but  true — immoveable  at  least.  That  old  stone-wall  has 
grown  a  little  more  gray  and  moss-covered.  It  was  my  early 
friend, — my  defense, — my  fortification  in  my  boyish  sports  and 
contests.  It  has  stood,  many  a  time,  between  me  and  harm.  It 
looks  as  if  it  would  like  to  speak  to  me  now  ;  but  it  is  eloquent, 
even  in  its  silence.  And  that  tree,  too,  near  by,  that  I  climbed 
so  often  in  my  boyhood,  and  whose  spreading  branches  furnished 
me  a  grateful  shade  in  summer,  and  pockets  full  of  chestnuts  in 
the  autumn,  who  will  say  that  it  is  not  a  kind  hearted  old  tree 
still  ?  Though  hollow,  I  am  sure  it  is  not  false ;  and  that  is 
more  than  we  can  say  of  all  the  world.  If  time  has  made  some 
inroads  on  the  house,  it  has  only  kept  pace  with  myself  in  that 
respect. 

And  there  is  the  dear  old  hearth-stone,  around  which  we  were 
all  gathered,  as  soon  as  it  was  sundown,  on  Saturday  night ;  for 
in  those  days  the  Sabbath,  with  commendable  promptness,  was 
made  to  begin  thus  early.  From  around  that  hearth,  ascended 
the  morning  and  evening  prayer :  instruction,  admonition,  advice, 
affection,  kindness  and  hope — all  were  centered  there. 

If  the  sons  of  Litchfield,  who  emigrated  to  other  lands,  have 
generally  been  successful  in  the  battle  of  life,  the  reasons  are  ob- 
vious. While'  the  pure  atmosphere  of  these  rugged  hills,  and 
their  simplt  and  active  habits  of  life,  gave  them  vigorous  consti- 
tutions and  physical  strength,  there  were  implanted  in  their  hearts 
a  high  toned  morality,  a  respect  for  religion  and  a  love  of  good 
order,  such  as  could  be  no  where  better  taught  than  in  the  New 


SPEECH.  157 

England  homes  of  their  childhood.  The  effect  of  this  teaching 
has  been  felt  throughout  the  Union : — its  influence  will  last  for 
ages  to  come. 

The  young  man  of  New  England, 

"  indocilis  paupetiem  pati," 

tempted  by  the  more  dazzling  prospects  in  newer  States,  with  a 
sad  heart,  but  full  of  hope,  leaves  the  comfortable  roof  of  his 
father,  and  turns  his  face  westward.  He  bears  with  him  a  good 
education,  habits  of  industry  and  frugality,  and  an  energy  and 
firmness  of  purpose  characteristic  of  his  race.  In  whatever  pur- 
suit he  engages,  he  never  doubts,  and  rarely  fails  of  success. 
Educated  in  the  practical  science  of  self-government,  he  is  ready 
to  draft  constitutions  and  enact  laws  ;  and  new  States  spring  up 
along  his  pathway.  He  never  forgets  the  institutions  of  his  early 
home ;  and  churches  and  common  schools  and  colleges  cluster 
around  him.  New  England  morals  and  character,  thougli  some- 
what modified  by  a  change  of  circumstances,  are  thus  transmitted 
to  the  prairies  and  forests  of  the  west  and  south.  While  the  emi- 
grant loses  none  of  his  attachment  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  and 
none  of  his  allegiance  to  his  native  State,  he  loves  too  the  State 
of  his  adoption,  and  glories  in  the  growing  prosperity  of  the 
Union.  With  him  it  is  no  sectional  feeling,  but  all  is  absorbed 
in  his  love  of  country.  The  stars  and  the  stripes  are  his  banner, 
and  under  them  he  is  ready  to  do  battle  against  the  world.  He 
sheds  his  blood  freely  in  their  defense,  whether  it  be  on  the  plains 
of  Mexico  or  the  heights  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  New  England 
emigrant  is  ubiquitous.  You  find  him  in  every  State  of  the  con- 
federacy, upholding  the  principles,  the  constitution  and  the  flag 
of  the  Union,  and  ready,  if  needs  be,  to  die  in  their  defense.  Can 
a  Union,  so  bound  together,  be  severed  ?  Never !  never !  The 
New  England  emigrant  has  already  reached  the  shores  of  the  Pa- 
cific, and  is  looking  out  for  a  foothold  beyond  it ;  and  it  is  certain 
he  will  be  satisfied  with  no  resting  place  till  he  has  planted  on  it 
the  flag  of  his  native  land.  Astronomers  have  discovered  several 
new  planets  within  the  last  few  years,  but  unless  they  rub  up 
their  glasses  and  keep  busily  employed  in  their  observations, 
Jonathan  will  beat  them  in  adding  stars  to  our  national  galaxy. 


158  SPEECH. 

But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  should  do  great  injustice  to  my 
own  feelings,  if  I  failed  to  speak  of  Litchfield  as  it  now  is. 
I  know  that  no  one  has  gone  out  from  this  County,  who  does  not 
feel  most  deeply  his  obligations  to  Litchfield ;  and  every  returning 
emigrant,  who  has  traveled,  as  I  have  done  for  the  last  few  days, 
in  different  parts  of  the  County,  looking  at  the  monuments  of  the 
past,  enjoying  the  beautiful  prospect  every  where  presented  to 
the  eye,  and  admiring  the  beneficent  changes  that  enterprise  and 
industry  have  accomplished,  must  feel  that  he  has  much  more 
reason  to  be  proud  of  you  than  you  have  of  him.  For  I  believe 
there  is  not  to  be  found,  any  where  within  the  same  extent  of 
country,  more  real  happiness  and  true  comfort,  than  in  the  County 
of  Litchfield.  The  neat  looking  farm-houses,  the  well  cultivated 
farms,  the  beautiful  stock  scattered  upon  the  hill-side,  the  moun- 
tains cultivated  to  their  very  tops,  and  the  vallies  vocal  with  the 
hum  of  industry,  present  a  picture  so  beautiful,  that  it  seems  the 
realization  of  a  poet's  dream.  The  very  streams  dance  gaily 
along,  as  if  rejoicing  in  their  successful  labors  at  the  water- 
wheel.  Here  property  seems  to  be  enjoyed  by  its  possessor — 
not  squandered  in  extravagance — nor  its  use  denied  by  parsimo- 
ny. Here  are  neither  the  extremes  of  wealth  or  poverty  ;  but 
competence,  health,  thrift  and  happiness  ;  the  just  and  sure  re- 
ward of  industry  and  virtue  every  where  abound.  And  then,  to 
pass  from  these  scenes  into  the  presence  of  such  an  assemblage  of 
intellect  and  intelligence  as  I  see  before  me,  I  may  well  ask, 
where  else  on  the  habitable  globe,  except  among  such  a  popula- 
tion, can  so  much  happiness  be  found  ? 

Though  the  New  England  emigrant  marries  abroad,  his  influ- 
ence is  still  felt  in  forming  our  national  character.  But  he  more 
frequently  comes  back  and  takes  a  New  England  wife  to  his  home 
in  the  West.  Who  can  estimate  the  value,  to  the  community  in 
which  she  lives,  of  such  a  wife  and  such  a  mother  ?  I  have  no 
occasion  here,  in  this  assemblage,  to  enlarge  upon  the  virtues  and 
graces  of  the  women  of  New  England. 

I  have  often  had  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  emigrant  sons  of 
Connecticut,  and  never  to  blush  for  them.  A  few  years  ago,  a 
Page  came  to  all  the  members  of  the  National  House  of  Represen- 
tatives at  Washington,  and  asked  them  to  write  down  their  names, 
and  ages,  and  the  places  of  their  birth.  I  was  gratified  to  find 


SPEECH.  159 

* 

that  nine  of  the  members  from  the  State  of  New  York,  were 
born  in  Connecticut.  I  have  had  a  right,  sir,  to  be  proud|of  the 
sons  of  Connecticut  when  I  have  found  them  every  where  dis- 
tinguished as  much  for  their  integrity  and  industry,  as  for 
their  intelligence  and  success  in  life.  They  are  prominent  alike 
in  the  cabinet  and  in  the  field, — in  arts  and  in  commerce, — in  the 
halls  of  science,  and  in  the  various  departments  of  literature. 

But,  Mr.  President,  while  I  speak  thus  proudly  and  truly 
of  Litchfield — of  Connecticut — of  New  England, — let  me  say  a 
kind  word  for  the  State  of  my  adoption.  We  love  our  native 
State  with  a  feeling  like  our  love  for  parents  ;  it  is  mixed  with 
profound  respect  and  veneration.  But  the  love  for  the  State  of 
our  adoption  is  like  that  we  feel  for  our  wives  and  our  children. 
We  are  part  of  it,  and  our  highest  pleasure  is  to  advance  its  pro- 
gress and  promote  its  interests.  Sir,  I  have  a  right  to  be  proud 
of  the  great  State  of  New  York, — first  in  population,  in  wealth, 
in  commerce,  in  means  of  internal  communication,  and  in  all  the 
elements  of  greatness.  She  may  well  claim  the  distinguished 
appellation  of  the  "Empire  State."  But  while  she  moves  majes- 
tically on,  under  her  glorious  motto,  "excelsior"  and  looks  confi- 
dently forward  to  the  high  destiny  in  store  for  her  country  and 
her  i  ace,  she  seeks  for  no  glory,  she  will  rejoice  in  no  elevation 
that  is  not  shared  by  her  sisters  of  the  confederacy. 


SPEECH  OF  HON.  F.  A.  TALLMADGE. 


HON.  FREDERICK  A.  TALLMADGE,  Recorder  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
a  native  of  Litchfield,  being  next  called,  addressed  the  audience  as  fol- 
lows: 

MR.  CHAIRMAN: — 

HAVING  but  just  arrived  in  the  village  of  my  nativity,  I  did 
not  anticipate  being  called  upon  to  address  you,  and  I  assure  you 
that  I  should  much  have  preferred  being  a  silent  listener,  to  being 
a  speaker  upon  this  occasion. 

But,  sir,  since  I  have  been  placed  upon  the  stand  by  the  kind 
partiality  of  my  fellow  citizens,  it  appears  to  be  expected  that  I 
should  say  something  to  you ;  and  indeed  how  could  I  be  silent 
when  amidst  the  hills  and  valleys  that  surround  the  place  of  my 
nativity  ? 

The  very  trees  that  adorn  your  streets,  and  the  residences  of 
our  fathers,  appear  like  old  friends,  and  recall  the  pleasures  and 
sports  of  childhood.  I  see  myself  surrounded  by  many  who  in 
my  youth,  I  thought  venerable,  and  I  thank  God  that  they  are 
still  spared  to  participate  in  the  festivities  of  this  day,  and  as 
evidences  of  the  salubrity  of  your  climate. 

Gentlemen  who  have  preceded  me  have  spoken  with  just  en- 
thusiasm of  the  political  institutions  of  ood  old  Connecticut, 
and  of  the  laws  applicable  to  our  common  schools  ;  they  no  doubt 
deserve  all  the  laudation  that  they  have  received  ;  but,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, when  I  cast  my  eye  at  that  old  school  house  where  I  was 
taught  my  alphabet,  when  in  a  warm  afternoon  I  sat  upon  a  bench 
without  any  support  to  my  back,  with  one  eye  almost  closed  with 
fatigue,  and  my  intellect  was  aroused  and  brightened  by  the  ap- 
plication of  my  master's  ratan,  I  confess  that  my  reminiscences 
are  not  of  any  agreeable  character ;  and  when  I  come  to  Litch- 


162  SPEECH. 

field  and  cast  my  eye  at  that  old  school  house,  I  look  upon  it 
with  any  other  feeling  than  that  of  pleasure.  I  am  the  more  im- 
pressed with  this  feeling  when  I  see  upon  this  stand,  that  Rev. 
gentleman,  (Rev.  Dr.  Robbins,)  who  taught  me  my  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  whose  exhortations  to  me,  when  I  had  been  derelict 
in  my  studies,  are  quite  fresh  in  my  recollection.  I  look  upon 
him  indeed  with  veneration  for  his  patient  efforts  to  instruct  me, 
and  reverence  him  as  the  last  of  the  "white  tops." — (Referring 
to  the  white  top  boots  worn  by  the  Rev.  Dr.) — Laughter. 

But  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  public  schools  have  been  useful, 
and  so  have  been  many  such  gentlemen  as  Dr.  Robbins,  who  have 
prepared  us  to  be  placed  uuder  the  care  of  the  distinguished 
President  of  Yale  College  who  has  honored  this  occasion  by  hia 
presence. 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  why  have  we  not  reason  to  be  proud  of  a 
County  which  has  presented  the  great  State  of  New  York  some 
of  its  most  distinguished  sons  ;  which  has,  indeed,  sent  its  chil- 
dren into  every  State  of  this  glorious  Union,  and  thereby  diffused 
those  principles  of  honor  and  morality,  which  our  forefathers 
instilled  into  their  youthful  bosoms  ?  Proud  am  I  that  the  dis- 
tinguished Senator  from  New  York,  Mr.  Dickinson,  whom  I 
am  proud  to  call  my  friend — imbibed  his  first  principles,  and 
received  the  first  rudiments  of  his  education  amongst  the  hills  of 
Litchfield ;  and  I  have  no  doubt,  Mr.  President,  that  the  enviable 
elevation  that  he  has  attained,  has  been  attributable  to  your  com- 
mon schools,  and  especially  to  the  free  use  of  the  birch  and  rat- 
an,  that  he  experienced  in  his  youthful  days. 

[MR.  DICKINSON.  I  had  a  fair  chance  afterwards,  when  I  was 
a  teacher,  and  I  paid  off  the  old  score.]  Laughter. 

MR.  TALLMADGE.  I  have  no  doubt  of  that,  but  to  recur  to 
Litchfield  and  its  sons. 

I  see  with  pride  and  pleasure  on  your  platform,  another  dis- 
tinguished son  of  our  County,  the  Hon.  A.  J.  Parker,  who,  with 
three  others,  natives  of  this  County,  occupy  seats  upon  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  of  your  sister  State,  New  York. 

Sir,  how  could  it  be  otherwise,  when  they  sprung  from  the 
soil  that  is  consecrated  by  the  memories  of  the  Wolcotts,  a  Kirby, 
a  Reeves,  a  Tracy,  a  Gould,  an  Allen,  and  many  others  equally 
distinguished,  whose  names  and  whose  characters  would  afford 


SPEECH.  163 


me  a  delightful  theme  for  remark — gentlemen  whose  influence 
was  not  limited  to  our  native  State,  but  whose  wisdom  and  char- 
acters aided  much  in  controlling  the  destinies  of  our  common 
country,  and  in  establishing  that  happy  government  under  which 
this  nation  is  attaining  such  an  enviable  position  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  when  alluding  to 
some  of  those  individuals  who  have  been  so  much  distinguished 
in  the  history  of  our  County,  it  will  not  be  regarded  as  invidious 
if  I  allude  to  one  who  will  be  remembered  by  some  of  you,  and 
whose  excellence  of  character  must  be  known  to  all :  I  allude  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Champion,  whose  venerable  appearance  is  deeply 
impressed  upon  my  youthful  recollection ;  short  in  stature,  with 
a  head  adorned  by  a  massive  wig,  a  countenance  that  indicated 
that  sincerity  arid  purity  of  purpose,  that  characterized  his 
clerical  conduct  in  life  ;  during  the  revolutionary  war,  this  ven- 
erable pastor  presided  over  the  flock  that  worshiped  in  yonder 
church,  and  I  shall  be  pardoned  in  relating  an  incident  which 
was  given  to  me  by  my  venerable  father,  (Col.  Tallmadge,) 
illustrative  of  that  fervent  zeal  and  stirring  patriotism,  that  char- 
acterized the  clergy  of  Connecticut,  during  that  momentous 
struggle. 

It  was  at  that  period  of  the  revolution,  when  the  whole  country 
was  in  a  state  of  great  alarm,  in  anticipation  of  the  arrival  of 
Cornwallis,  with  a  formidable  army  upon  our  shores,  my  father 
was  passing  through  Litchfield  with  a  regiment  of  Cavalry ;  they 
attended  church  on  the  Sabbath,  when  the  reverend  divine  ad- 
dressed the  God  of  battles  thus  :  "  Oh  Lord,  we  view  with  terror 
and  dismay,  the  approach  of  the  enemies  of  thy  holy  religion  ; 
wilt  thou  send  storm  and  tempest,  and  scatter  them  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth ;  but,  peradventure,  should  any  escape 
thy  vengeance,  collect  them  together  again,  Oh  Lord,  as  in  the 
hollow  of  thy  hand,  and  let  thy  lightnings  play  upon  them." 

This  was  the  patriotic  feeling  that  inspired  our  forefathers, 
and  this  spirit,  which  the  Clergy  of  New  England  breathed  from 
their  pulpits,  contributed  largely  to  secure  that  independence 
which  we  now  so  richly  enjoy : — blessed  be  their  memories  ! 

Mr.  Chairman. — while  participating  in  the  festivities  of  this 
day,  while  recurring  to  the  scenes  of  our  youth,  and  while  many 


164  SPEECH. 

of  us,  who  have  strayed  far  from  our  native  hills,  are  permitted  to 
recall  those  scenes,  and  look  upon  those  hills  again,  it  is  pleasur- 
able indeed,  but  that  pleasure  is  commingled  with  some  sad 
thoughts.  In  the  meridian  of  life,  I  return  to  you  almost  a 
stranger  here.  When  I  cast  my  eyes  about  this  vast  assembly, 
how  little  am  I  known  to  you,  and  how  few  of  you  are  known  to 
me  ;  although  born  but  a  short  distance  from  this  very  spot,  I 
look  about,  and  enquire,  where  are  the  ashes  of  my  ancestry, 
and  family  connexions  whom  I  left  here  ?  all  deposited  in  yonder 
churchyard.  Where  are  those  distinguished  citizens  and  excel- 
lent neighbors,  that  constituted  a  society  hi  this  County,  of  which 
their  descendants  can  ever  speak  with  pride  and  pleasure  ? 
They,  too,  are  in  the  silent  tomb.  It  is  pleasant  to  refer  to  their 
memories.  It  is  sad  to  know  that  we  cannot  recah1  them. 

I  will  close,  Mr.  Chairman,  with  the  expression  of  the  hope, 
that,  while  the  canvas  that  covers  us  this  day  will  soon  decay, 
may  we  meet  again  at  the  next  Centennial  Celebration,  and  that 
you  may  preside  over  us. 


SPEECH  OF  DAVID  BUELL,  ESQ. 


MR.  BUELL,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  a  native  of  Litchfield,  was  requested  by 
the  Chair  to  address  the  audience,  and  made  a  few  remarks  to  the  follow- 
ing effect. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  : — 

I  feel  much  embarrassed  at  your  unexpected  call  upon  me  to 
address  this  assembly  at  so  late  an  hour,  and  after  the  topics 
most  appropriate  to  the  occasion  have  been  effectually  used  up  by 
the  series  of  addresses  which  have  enchained  the  attention  of 
this  assembly  for  the  last  two  days.  What  can  he  do,  who  comes 
after  the  King  ?  Indeed,  I  find  myself  too  much  affected  in  my 
spirits  by  what  I  have  witnessed  since  I  came  here,  and  by  the 
recollections  of  my  earlier  years,  to  attempt  to  interest  you  by 
any  thing  which  I  could  say. 

Standing  within  a  few  rods  of  the  spot  where  I  was  born,  after 
having  been  a  truant  from  the  village  of  my  nativity  for  fifty-four 
years,  and  surrounded  by  natives  of  the  same  town  and  County, 
I  find  myself  amidst  strange  faces ; — men  and  women  of  Litchfield, 
but  of  another  generation.  I  look  around  this  large  assembly,  to 
find  some  of  the  countenances  which  were  once  so  familiar,  and 
whose  looks  are  so  vividly  impressed  on  my  memory.  I  have 
recognized  but  two  individuals,  among  tjhe  present  residents  of 
Litchfield,  who  resided  here  in  1797,  when  my  father's  family 
removed  from  this  town.  Many  of  the  descendants  of  those  who 
then  resided  here,  still  occupy  these  hills,  and  many  objects 
remain,  which  forcibly  recall  the  scenes  of  childhood  to  my 
recollection. 

Most  of  the  dwe^ings  of  the  families  who  resided  in  the  village 
at  the  period  of  my  removal,  yet  remain,  and  bring  to  my  remem- 
11 


166  SPEECH. 

brance  the  names  and  looks  and  characters  of  those  -who  then 
occupied  them. 

At  the  head  of  the  North  street  stands  the  mansion  then  occu- 
pied by  the  Catlin  family.  A  few  rods  south,  and  on  the  west  side 
of  the  street,  stands  the  mansion  which  belonged  to  Andrew  Ad- 
ams, then  Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court.  The  dwelling 
next  south,  was  the  residence  of  Lynde  Lord,  who  long  filled  the 
office  of  Sheriff  of  the  County.  The  next  dwelling  south  of 
Sheriff  Lord's,  was  the  residence  of  the  Misses  Pierce — still  the 
abode  of  the  venerable  and  much  respected  lady  who  founded  the 
Litchfield  Female  Seminary,  which,  although  one  of  the  earliest 
institutions  for  the  education  of  females,  was  long  and  widely 
celebrated.  Few,  if  any  female  seminaries,  have  been  better  con- 
ducted, and  more  successful  in  elevating  the  standard  of  female 
education  in  our  country-  I  doubt  not  that  many  ladies  in  this 
assembly  could  bear  their  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  this  pio- 
neer seminary.  Next  south,  stands  the  dwelling  in  which  Dr. 
Daniel  Sheldon  resided,  who  long  held  a  very  high  rank  among 
the  physicians  of  this  State.  A  few  rods  further  south,  I  recog- 
nize the  mansion  of  Gen.  Uriah  Tracy,  and  which,  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, became  the  residence  of  the  late  Judge  Gould.  Of  the 
eminence  of  the  former  as  a  lawyer  and  statesman,  and  of  the  lat- 
ter as  a  profound  jurist,  it  can  not  be  necessary  to  speak  in  this 
place.  The  next  house  south,  was  the  residence  of  Col.  Benja- 
min Tallmadge,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the  Revolution,  and 
long  an  influential  Representative  in  Congress.  Nearly  opposite 
to  the  mansion  of  Col.  Tallmadge,  was  that  of  Julius  Deming, 
for  many  years  a  successful  and  honorable  merchant.  The  house 
next  south  of  the  Square,  on  the  west  side  of  the  street,  was  the 
residence  of  Major  Seymour,  another  veteran  of  the  Revolution. 
A  few  rods  further  south,  stands  the  venerable  mansion,  long 
occupied  by  Tapping  Reeve,  a  great  and  good  man,  the  founder 
of  the  Litchfield  Law  School,  long  celebrated  through  our  land. 
Nearly  opposite  to  the  mansion  of  Judge  Reeve,  was  that  of  the 
Wolcotts,  father  and  son ;  and  a  few  rods  below,  was  that  of 
Ephraim  Kirby. 

The  names  of  all  whom  I  have  mentioned  must  be  familiar  to 
a  Litchfield  audience,  even  of  another  generation.  I  confine  my 
remarks  to  reminiscences  of  the  village,  then  called,  "Town  Hill" 


SPEECH.  167 

I  left  the  County  at  too  early  an  age,  to  have  been  much  acquainted 
in  other  towns.  Town  Hill  always  charmed  all  who  beheld  it,  by 
its  beautiful  native  scenery,  and  was  greatly  distinguished  for  the 
high  intellectual  and  moral  character  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  admirable  Addresses  and  Poem  to  which  this  gratified 
assembly  have  been  listening,  have  brought  to  the  recollection  of 
the  old,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  young,  the  names  of  many, 
both  in  the  village  and  through  the  County,  whose  memory  will 
be  cherished  by  the  generations  who  will  occupy  these  hills  when 
other  centuries  shall  have  rolled  away.  But,  Mr.  President,  I 
forbear  to  trespass  further  upon  ground  already  so  well  occupied. 


SPEECH  OF  EDWA11D  TOMPKINS,  ESQ. 


THE  President  next  introduced  EDWARD  TOMPKINS,  Esq.,  of  Bingham- 
ton,  N.  Y.,  whose  parents  were  natives  of  Watertown. 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — 
I  NEED  not  say  to  any  business  man  here,  that  there  can  be 
no  greater  embarrassment  in  life,  than  to  be  unexpectedly,  and 
\yith  empty  pockets,  called  upon  with  a  sight-draft.  That  hap- 
pens to  be  my  case  now ;  and  the  embarrassment  which  the 
draft  now  made  upon  me  causes,  is  aggravated  beyond  measure 
by  the  fact,  that,  sitting  here  since  yesterday  morning,  I  have 
learned  that  I  can  neither  beg  nor  borrow  any  thing  with  which 
to  pay  it.  Every  thing  that  would  be  appropriate  here,  has 
been  already  spread  before  you.  Would  I  go  for  incidents  to  the 
history  of  Litchfield  County  ?  The  distinguished  jurist  who, 
yesterday,  so  eloquently  bound  us,  has  told  us  all,  and  I  must 
repeat,  not  half  so  well,  a  twice-told  tale.  Would  I  seek  with 
wit,  or  fancy,  to  amuse  and  instruct  you  ?  The  brilliant  Poet, 
whom  we  honor  and  revere  with  every  fibre  of  our  Litchfield 
hearts,  has  exhausted  the  language,  and  the  whole  vocabulary  of 
wit  was  here  used  up  by  him  forever !  (Laughter.)  Would  I 
go  further  on ;  and  in  the  domestic  relations,  so  dear  to  our 
hearts,  so  fondly  prized,  find  aught  with  which,  for  a  moment,  I 
could  hope  to  enlist  your  attention  ?  The  truthful,  courageous, 
heroic  divine,  who  has  this  morning  illustrated  them  here  so 
well,  has  again  made  me  bankrupt,  and  the  draft  which  I  would 
so  wish  to  honor,  must  yet  be  protested,  unless  I  can  find  some 
claim  upon  your  indulgence  that  will  induce  you  to  release  me 
now.  I  think  I  have  found  it. 


170  SPEECH.  ^ 

Each  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  addressed  you,  is  a  son  of 
Litchfield :  and  -while  the  relation  is  a  very  dear  one,  let  me  tell 
you  that  good  old  mother  Litchfield.  as  they  affectionately  call 
her,  has  yet  a  dearer.  It  is  a  principle  in  human  nature,  which 
we  all  discover  very  early  in  life,  and  which,  as  our  children 
grow  up  around  us,  we  usually  see  developed  in  a  still  more 
striking  manner,  that  however  stern  parents  may  be  with  their 
own  children,  they  are,  invariably,  quite  indulgent  enough  to 
their  grand-children.  Applying  that  principle  here,  I  incur  no 
hazard  in  assuming,  that  however  severe  old  Litchfield  may 
have  been  with  her  children,  yet  when  she  comes  to  her  grand- 
children, she  will  spoil  them,  every  one.  That  is  my  position 
now ;  I  am  one  of,  and  speak  for  the  grandchildren ;  and  I 
claim  here,  and  now,  the  fullest  measure  of  indulgence,  which 
our  good  old  grandmother  can  bestow.  The  principle  upon 
which  I  now  rely  so  confidently,  was  taught  me  when  on  niy 
first  visit,  in  childhood,  to  my  Litchfield  grandmother ;  she 
sweetened  the  new  milk  she  gave  me,  when  had  it  been  for  her 
own  children,  she  would  have  churned  it  before  she  would  have 
let  them  taste  it ;  and  the  lesson  I  then  learned,  has  stood  me 
in  good  stead  this  day. 

I  would  not,  willingly,  disturb  the  harmony  that  prevails  here, 
by  any  personal  grief,  yet  there  has  been  one  occurrence  of  which 
I  am  compelled  to  complain.  I  listened  yesterday  afternoon,  with 
as  broad  and  open-mouthed  an  interest  as  any  one  of  you  here ;  and 
how  was  I,  beyond  measure,  astonished,  when  the  reverend  gentle- 
man— he  who  has  filled  the  earth  with  melodies  which  we  could 
almost  fancy,  would  be  sung  in  heaven — who  has  shown  us  that 
he,  Eke  the  divine  alluded  to  this  morning,  can  unite  two  worlds 
on  earth,  who  charmed  us  by  his  brilliant  wit,  and  melted  us 
with  bis  eloquence ;  when  he,  a  stranger  as  I  supposed  to  me 
and  to  my  household,  actually  painted,  at  full  length  before  you. 
and  before  aH  Litchfield,  feature  by  feature — even  to  the  color 
of  her  hair  and  of  her  eyes — saying  nothing  of  the  unpardonable 
allusion  to  the  color  of  a  portwn  of  her  dress,  upon  which  none 
bat  the  most  heterodox  of  divines  would  ever  have  ventured  : — mv 
own  Yankee  wife.  (Laughter.)  Think  of  my  surprise — three 
hundred  miles  from  home,  thus  unexpectedlv  to  encounter  such 


SPEECH.  171 

a  picture  I  Would  the  gentleman  tell  me  that  it  was  only  a 
general  picture  ?  That  is  the  way  Clergymen  always  escape, 
when  their  general  sketches  become  so  personal,  that  every  body 
applies  them !  (Laughter.)  I  had  not  supposed  the  reverend 
gentleman  was  acquainted  with  her ;  and  I  should  have  been 
proud  beyond  measure,  if  he  had  come  opeidy,  when  I  was  at 
Jtome,  to  have  welcomed  him  there.  It  may  be,  he  has  never  been 
there  ;  (Laughter.)  Yet  an  idea  suggests  itself  to  me  which, 
I  am  afraid,  will  convince  you  and  me  that  there  is,  at  least, 
so?ne  doubt  about  it.  There  are  no  two  persons,  it  is  said,  who 
look  exactly  alike.  If  this  be  true,  it  follows  that  no  one  descrip- 
tion will  exactly  describe  them,  and  inasmuch  as  I  know  that  this 
is  true,  in  every  line  and  letter,  the  reverend  gentleman  stands 
convicted  beyond  the  hope  of  escape,  of  having  resorted  to  per- 
sonalities in  the  portrait  he  has  painted  before  you.  (Great 
laughter.)  I  can  only  say  that  I  am  not,  naturally,  distrustful, 
or  suspicious  ;  and  I  hope,  in  the  ways  of  Providence,  if  all  is 
right,  (laughter,)  that  the  reverend  Gentleman  may  yet  be  led 
to  cross  my  threshold,  and  that  I  may  have  the  pleasure,  and  the 
honor,  of  introducing  to  him  the  original  of  the  portrait  he  has 
so  brightly  and  beautifully  drawn. 

But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  is  not  the  tone  in  which  I 
should  address  you  now.     Thoughts  of  too  much  moment  press 
upon  us, — interests  as  extensive  as  our  lives.    We  all  feel  deeply, 
that  while  we  have  listened,  till  we  can  afford  to  spare  the  repeti- 
tion, to  eulogiums  upon  our  lofty  hills  and  bracing  atmosphere, 
we  have  not  heard  enough,  even,  to  satisfiy  our  cravings  of  the 
domestic  relations,  the  rich  social  worth  which  has  made  Litchfield 
County  what  it  is.     It  has  been  said,  over  and  over,  and  cannot 
be  too  often  repeated,  that  it  is  these  that  have  made  the  great 
men  of  Litchfield ;  these  that  have  sent  her  sons  abroad  to  be 
crowned  with  honors  and  to  fill  the  high  places  of  our  land,  to 
explore  every  recess  of  creation  and  return  laden  with  the  trophies 
of  their  peaceful  victories,  only  to  lay  them  in  triumph  at  the  feet 
of  their  common  mother.     But  when  we  look  around  us  to  deter- 
mine— and  our  attention  has  been  already  called  to  it — what  it  is 
to  which  Litchfield  County  owes  the  great  results  her  sons  have 
accomplished,  we  find  we  must  go  back  to  the  dead  to  seek  it ;  and 
it  becomes  us,  not  sadly— not  sorrowfully — but  triumphantly,  to 


172  SPEECH. 

keep  them  ever  before  us,  and  to  recall  them  from  the  graves  where 
they  are  buried.  The  dead  of  Litchfield  County !  That  mighty 
army !  Oh  think  of  it,  of  the  host  innumerable  that  Would  be 
called  forth  here  and  now,  if  the  graves  where  the  sons  of  Litch- 
field lie  buried  could  give  up  their  dead.  Oh  think  of  the 
mighty  lessons  they  have  taught — the  mighty  labors  they  have 
wrought !  The  dead  of  Litchfield !  Lost,  yet  found  forever, — 
absent,  yet  present  now  and  always, — dead,  but  living  in  that 
glorious  life,  which,  commencing  on  the  confines  of  time,  spreads 
onward  and  ever  onward,  through  the  endless  ages  of  eternity. 


SPEECH  OF  GEORGE  W.  HOLLEY,  ESQ. 


GEORGE  W.  HOLLEV,  Esq.,  of  Niagara  Falls,  a  native  of  Salisbury, 
was  introduced  to  the  meeting  and  said  : — 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES,  AND  GENTLEMEN: — 

IF  the  gentleman  who  last  addressed  you  was  in  danger  o{ 
bankruptcy,  on  account  of  being  compelled  to  repeat  a  twice  told 
tale, — if  he  was  a  two  story,  I  am  a  three  story  bankrupt ;  for 
there  is  nothing  to  be  said,  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  which  has 
not  already  been  well  said.  But  before  proceeding  to  address 
you,  in  a  more  serious  strain,  permit  me  to  follow  the  high  exam- 
ple already  set,  and  relate  to  you  an  anecdote.  When  I  was  a 
boy  I  went  to  see  a  menagerie.  The  whole*  menagerie  consisted 
of  an  elephant,  who  was  exhibited  upon  a  bam  floor.  Among 
those  who  came  to  see  him,  was  a  tall,  lean,  wiry,  six  foot  Yan- 
kee, who  soon  became  particularly  interested  in  the  animal. 
After  walking  around  him  with  his  hands  in  his  pantaloons  pock- 
ets, and  scrutinizing  him  closely,  and  remarking  that  he  was 
"  the  curioustest  critter  that  ever  he  seen,"  he  began  to  ply  the 
keeper  with  questions  about  him.  After  getting  through  with 
his  color,  his  thick  hide,  hie  big  legs,  and  his  "  queer  feet," 
which  "  didn't  have  shoes  on  'em  like  a  hos,"  and  "  wasn't  split 
up  like  a  cow's,"  he  came  at  last  to  the  trunk,  which  the  keeper 
told  him  he  used  mainly  as  a  weapon  of  defence.  "  Weapon!  " 
said  Jonathan ;  "  weapon !  I  shouldn't  think  it  was  good  for 
any  thing  for  sich  use.  Why,  it's  a  limber  thing,  he  can't  du 
any  thing  with  it."  The  result  of  the  parley  was,  that  Jonathan 
wanted  to  hold  the  elephant  by  the  trunk,  and  the  keeper  was 
willing  he  should  try  the  experiment.  Accordingly,  the  keeper 


174  SPEECH. 

kept  the  elephant  quiet,  while  Jonathan  got  his  trunk  under  his 
left  arm,  seized  his  own  coat  collar  with  his  left  hand,  and  put 
his  right  arm  around  the  big  post  next  to  the  "  big  bay."  After 
Jonathan  got  himself  fairly  fixed  and  settled  in  his  hold,  he  told 
the  keeper  to  "  let  his  critter  go."  After  getting  the  spectators 
all  into  one  corner  of  the  barn,  the  keeper  stepped  aside  and  told 
the  elephant  to  take  care  of  himself : — whereupon,  he  proceeded 
to  give  his  trunk  a  twist  and  a  jerk,  and  Jonathan  went  across 
the  barn — as  a  big  boy  near  me  said — "  all  sorts  of  ends  fust- 
wards."  But  with  one  particular  end  he  struck  the  little  barn- 
door, knocked  it  off  the  hinges  and  rolled  nearly  across  the  barn- 
yard. Being,  fortunately,  but  little  hurt,  he  got  up,  and  while 
brushing  off  the  straw  and  dirt  from  his  vest  and  pants,  (for  his 
coat  was  all  torn  off  him,)  he  exclaimed :  "  Well,  I  swow,  he  is 
putty  stout !  " 

There  is  nothing,  from  holding  an  elephant  to  counterfeiting 
nutmegs  and  cucumber  seeds,  that  some  Yankees  will  not  under- 
take. 

Mr.  President, — as  an  immigrant  from  this  County,  I  have 
the  honor  to  be  one  of  those  who  represent  that  portion  of  it 
included  within  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Salisbury.  That  town, 
through  her  material  and  inanimate  representatives,  has,  hereto- 
fore, often  been  heard  on  public  occasions,  speaking  for  herself 
in  tones  of  thunder ;  *  and  the  effects  of  her  shots  have  been 
often  seen  and  felt  in  the  wasting  ranks  and  sinking  ships  of  her 
country's  enemies.  But  roaring  cannon  and  booming  shot  are 
entirely  alien  to  the  voice  with  which  she  would  address  you  on 
this  most  interesting  occasion.  She  would  mingle  her  warm 
congratulations,  her  warmer  sympathies,  her  warmest  welcome, 
with  those  of  her  sister  towns,  on  this  day.  She  would  unite 
with  them  in  coming  up,  with  filial  pride,  affection,  and  respect, 
to  offer  new  homage  to  their  common  mother,  to  weave  new 
wreaths  for  her  brows,  to  lay  fresh  garlands  upon  her  altars,  to 
sing  new  praises  to  her  honored  name,  to  exchange  heart-felt 
greetings  with  others  of  her  children  gathered  here,  to  talk  of 
the  past  and  to  pray  for  the  future.  This  occasion  is  full  of 
interest  to  every  one  who  hails  from  Litchfield  County. 


*  Most  of  the  cannon  and  ihot  for  the  Revolutionary  War  were  made  in  this  town. 


SPEECH.  175 

The  rattling  thunder  in  her  rocky  hills ; 

The  silver  music  of  her  gushing  rills; 

The  cold  and  piercing  wintry  v/inds  wild  wail ; 

The  sweeping  cadences  of  the  rushing  gale ; 

The  green  hill-sides'  cool,  refreshing  shade  ; 

The  tinkling  cow-bell  in  the  wooded  glade  ; 

The  bleating  flocks  and  the  lowing  herds  ; 

The  hum  of  insects  and  the  songs  of  birds ; 

The  solemn  tunes  he  sung  at  singing  school ; 

The  school  house,  where  he  taught  the  man  a  fool 

Who  taught,  and  questioned  much  his  right  to  rule ; 

The  merry  dance,  in  merry  ranks  arrayed, 

Which  still  he  danced  as  still  the  fiddle  play'd, 

When  sleep  had  settled  on  his  drowsy  head ; 

The  boat  in  which  the  tugging  oar  he  plied  ; 

The  snow-clad  hill  down  which  he  used  to  slide  ; 

The  gleeful  music  which  the  sleigh-bells  made, 

While  the  sleigh-shoes,  a  running  octave  play'd; 

The  impressive  sound  of  the  old  church  bell 

In  the  joyous  peal  or  the  solemn  k»ell ; 

The  house  of  God— the  good  roan's  prayer, 

The  good  man's  warning  which  impressed  him  there. 

It  is  pleasant  to  look  again  on  these  familiar  scenes,  which  are 
daguerreotyped  on  all  our  hearts ;  it  is  music  to  our  ears  to  hear 
again  these  familiar  sounds  and  voices — it  is  gladness  to  our  hearts 
to  mingle  again  with  the  kindred  and  friends  of  life's  early  day. 

But,  my  friends,  you  have  heard  enough  of  this.  Permit  me 
to  recall  to  your  attention  the  closing  paragraph  of  the  excellent 
address  to  which  you  listened  on  yesterday.  It  referred  to  the 
Union.  And  if  my  voice  can  not  have  the  weight  of  admoni- 
tion, let  it  at  least  have  the  force  of  entreaty,  while  I  pray  you  to 
look  upon  the  federal  Union  of  these  States  as  your  political  ark 
of  the  covenant,  sacred  in  your  eyes,  dear  to  your  hearts,  and 
to  be  defended  and  sustained  with  all  your  strength.  Let  not 
water  drown,  let  not  fire  burn,  let  not  cart  ropes  nor  chains 
strangle  nor  draw  out  of  you  ;  let  not  principalities  nor  powers, 
nor  anything  else  under  heaven,  take  from  you  your  conviction  of 
its  necessity,  your  faith  in  its  efficacy,  nor  your  determination  that 


176  SPEECH. 

it  shall  be  perpetuated.  Let  us  believe  that  America  is,  politi- 
cally speaking,  God's  present  Israel.  And  though  disputes  may 
arise,  though  local  interests  may  lead  to  dissentions,  though  nul- 
lification or  secession  may  rear  their  horrid  front,  though  foul  trea- 
son may  plot  to  betray  us,  though  unholy  factionists,  and  more 
unholy  fanatics,  may  seek  to  embroil  us,  still  let  us  cling  •with  the 
tenacity  of  an  unyielding  grasp  to  the  faith  that  our  Union  shall 
be  saved  at  every  hazard — that  our  institutions  shall  be  preserved 
through  every  trial — that  the  spirit  of  American  freedom  shall 
emerge  brighter  and  purer,  from  every  conflict — that  still  the 
chosen  Israel  shall  pass  unharmed  the  troubled  Jordan,  and  pitch 
its  tents  in  the  land  of  promise  and  of  peace ! 


MR.  GOULD'S  REMARKS. 


GEORGE  GOULD,  Esq.,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  a  native  of  Litchfield,  was  next 
called  upon  by  the  President,  and  spoke  as  follows. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  : — 

Apologies  and  themes  have  all  been  touched  on  ;  and  little  is 
left  to  be  said  by  any  one  that  comes  forward  now.  But  twenty 
years  ago  I  carried  away  with  me  a  Litchfield  heart,  and  I  have 
brought  it  back  to-day  :  and  I  will  answer  to  a  Litchfield  County 
call,  whenever  and  wherever  made. 

It  has  ever  been  said  that  those  who  are  born  and  reared  among 
high  hills,  have  strong  local  attachments.  It  should  be  as  truly 
said,  that  those  reared  where  high  moral  principles  prevail,  like- 
wise have  strong  moral  attachments.  For  me,  I  profess  to 
nothing  above  what  is  common ;  I  claim  nothing  fabulous ;  and 
I  trust  I  am  not  earth-born, — an  Antaeus.  But  I  have  this  resem- 
blance to  the  fabled  giant ; — whenever  my  feet  touch  my  native 
soil,  I  gather  new  vigor  from  the  contact.  Never  do  I  approach 
these  hills,  without  feeling  the  exhilaration  of  a  school  boy.  We, 
in  the  valleys  and  by  the  river  sides,  know  nothing  of  your  clear 
atmosphere.  You  breathe  a  stronger,  purer  air  ;  you  feel  better, 
live  nearer  heaven — feel  as  near  heaven  as  every  one  of  us  thought 
himself,  when  a  boy.  Your  climate  has  been  objected  to  ;  and 
it  is,  in  winter,  dreary  and  cold.  But  your  State's  best  poet  has 
said, 

—  "  the  wing 

Of  Life's  best  angel,  HEALTH,  is  on  your  gales 
Through  3un  and  snow ;  and  in  the  Autumn  time 
Earth  has  no  purer,  and  no  lovelier  clime." 


178  SPEECH. 

This  is  a  sentiment  to  which  every  one  here  will  respond,  and 
which  has  been  responded  to,  by  those  coming  from  Connecticut, 
the  world  over  ;  and  no  one  of  them  forgets  it.  The  whole  air 
around  you  is  full  of  every  thing  beautiful,  and  bright,  and  great. 
Such  is  your  land. 

But  the  moral  influence,  spread  abroad  in  this  community,  is 
the  great  source  of  its  power.  One  hundred  years  since,  you 
were  organized  as  a  County.  And  they  who  composed  the 
County  so  organized,  had  come  from,  been  part  of,  a  colony, 
whose  members,  at  its  first  organization,  were  resolved  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  laws  of  God,  till  they  could  make  better. 

[The  speaker  was  here  interrupted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robbing, 
who  sat  on  the  platform,  with  "  Oh,  no ;  not  so!" — the  reverend 
gentleman  supposing  the  speaker  to  assert, — as  has  often  been  jo- 
cosely said, — that  the  founders  of  the  colony  at  Hartford  adopted 
as  part  of  their  municipal  code,  a  formal  resolution  of  a  purport 
similar  to  the  words  used  by  the  speaker.  The  speaker  con- 
tinued ;  first  addressing  Dr.  Robbins.] 

You  misunderstand  me,  sir.  I  did  not  say  that  they  passed 
any  such  formal  resolution  :  though  if  I  did,  (as  I  do  not  pretend 
to  remember  the  time,)  I  should  but  "  tell  the  story  as  'twas  told 
to  me."  Yet  "multitude  of  years  should  teach  wisdom;"  and  I 
might  be  content  to  be  corrected  by  the  lips  of  age.  I  said, 
merely,  and  mean  to  say,  that  at  any  rate,  (whether  or  not  any 
formal  resolution,  such,  or  similar,  was  passed,)  such  ivas  the 
spirit  of  the  men.  And  you  stand  here,  to-day,  what  you  are, 
as  the  result  of  that  spirit.  Governed  by  those  principles  and 
laws,  (resolved,  or  unresolved,)  as  they  are  seen  to  exist  through- 
out this  land,  and  founded  on  such  a  moral  and  religious  basis, 
we'  see  the  source  of  the  influence  and  the  honors,  of  both  the 
homespun  and  the  elegant  age. 

A  people  that  makes  the  Bible  a  text-book  in  schools ;  that 
makes  that  creed  and  that  code  the  foundation  of  its  political  and 
moral  teachings,  must  ever  exert  great  influence  on  all  within 
their  reach.  Among  them,  a  sense  "  of  duty,  God- -commanded, 
over-canopies  all  life.  It  penetrates  to  the  remotest  cottage,  to 
the  simplest  heart.  There  is  an  inspiration  in  such  a  people  : 
one  may  say,  in  a  more  special  sense,  '  the  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty  giveth  them  understanding.'  " 


SPEECH.  179 

As  the  result  of  such  teachings,  years  and  years  ago,  Litchfield 
County  was  prominent  in  all  those  noble  enterprises  for  the  ben- 
efit of  mankind,  which  have  extended  their  blessed  influences  over 
the  wide  world.  I  can  not  better  illustrate  this,  than  by  the  fact, 
(which  I  remember  to  have  heard  many  years  ago,)  that  once, 
when  the  great  enterprise  for  civilizing  and  Christianizing  foreign 
and  barbarous  nations  was  halting  for  want  of  means,  and  its 
wheels  had  almost  stopped,  the  auxiliaries  of  Litchfield  County 
sent  in  a  liberal,  large  supply,  and  the  work  moved  on.  The 
reverend  men  of  those  days,  who  had  charge  of  the  work,  then 
said  they  "had  reason  to  bless  God  for  Litchfield  County." 
And  I  have  always  felt, — as  every  one  here  has, — as  every  one 
bred  where  such  principles  are  instilled,  and  where  they  remain, 
must  feel, — that  we,  at  least,  have  always  and  every  where  "  rea- 
son to  bless  Grod  for  Litchfield  County." 


SPEECH  OF  HENRY  BUTTON,  ESQ. 


HENRY  BUTTON,  Esq.,  of  New  Haven,  Professor  in  the  Yale  Law 
School,  a  native  of  Watertown,  was  next  introduced,  and  said  : — 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES,  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — 

I  shall  make  no  excuse  or  apology  for  appearing  before  you  at 
this  time,  notwithstanding  the  displays  of  eloquence  which  you 
have  already  heard,  for  I  hold  that  the  man  who  can  not  say  some- 
thing on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  can  have  no  soul.  I  never  in 
my  life  have  spent  two  such  days  of  pleasure  and  profit,  as  these, 
which  you,  as  well  as  I,  have  enjoyed.  On  coming  to  this  place, 
I  passed  by  the  place  of  my  birth,  by  the  hill  on  which  my  eyes 
first  opened  on  the  prospect  around  me ;  and  0,  what  a  pros- 
pect !  It  was  no  level  plain  upon  which  my  eyes  first  opened  ; 
but  it  was  a  broader  horizon  than  the  inhabitants  of  a  plain  can 
ever  witness  in  their  lives.  And  every  thing  that  I  have  seen, 
the  hills  and  the  valleys,  the  streams  and  the  wood-lands,  have 
reminded  me  of  the  days  of  my  childhood ;  and  especially  here 
have  I  been  presented  with  a  perfect  panorama  of  what  passed 
from  the  days  of  my  birth  to  the  time  that  I  entered  upon  the 
active  duties  of  life.  When  we  come  together  here,  it  is  highly 
important  that  we  should  feel  gratitude  to  our  common  mother ; 
and  I  have  been  disposed  to  look  and  inquire,  what  are  those 
things  for  which  I  should  feel  individually  grateful.  Of  these, 
one  is,  that  I  had  my  birth  here,  and  that  in  my  youth  I  was  one 
of  the  farmers  of  Litchfield  County.  That  gave  me  strength 
and  vigor,  which  have  enabled  me  to  endure  a  great  amount  of 
labor,  both  of  body  and  of  mind,  and  I  have  often  thought  since, 
and  I  presume  others  have  concurred  with  me  in  opinion,  that  it 
would  have  been  better  had  I  again  become  one  of  the  "  princes 

12 


182  SPEECH. 

of  the  land."  But  on  returning  here  and  looking  at  the  im- 
provements which  have  been  made,  and  seeing  how  much  the 
science  of  agriculture  has  gone  forward,  I  have  become  discour- 
aged from  any  personal  attempts  ;  for  I  find  myself  far  behind 
the  age ; — so  I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  I  will  never  try  to 
be  a  farmer  again. 

This  is  not  the  only  benefit  I  derived  from  being  brought  up 
in  the  County  of  Litchfield.  My  first  impressions  of  female 
beauty  and  female  character  are  connected  with  Litchfield  Coun- 
ty. My  ideas  of  beauty  of  countenance  are  associated  with  the 
fresh  glow  of  health,  which  has  been  heightened  by  the  cool 
breezes  of  the  north-west,  that  sweep  over  these  hills ;  and  my 
impressions  of  female  character  are  also  associated  with  my 
recollections  of  the  young  ladies  of  this  County.  I  have  had 
opportunities,  since,  of  seeing  grace  of  motion  in  a  great  variety 
of  forms.  I  have  seen  ladies  move  with  grace  in  the  dance,  in 
the  waltz,  and  in  the  polka ;  but,  for  real  grace  of  motion,  as  well 
as  grace  of  the  heart,  "  0,  leeze  me  on  the  spinning  wheel." 

"We  have  been  referred  to  days  that  are  past,  and  our  atten- 
tion has  been  directed  to  those  who  heretofore  have  done  honor 
to  the  County  of  Litchfield  ;  but  I  think  it  may  be  well  to  cast 
a  glance,  at  least,  to  the  present,  to  see  whether  the  present 
generation  will  be  able  to  bear  the  burthen  laid  upon  them  by 
their  ancestors.  We  hare  been  referred  to  the  bar,  and  we  have 
been  told  of  the  men, — but  we  need  not  have  been  told,  for  their 
praises  have  always  rung  in  our  ears, — who  distinguished  the  bar 
and  the  bench  in  this  County.  Now,  I  will  admit  that  they 
raised  temples  to  justice ;  but  I  thank  God,  that  at  the  present 
day  we  have  at  least  a  Church,  and  if  not  quite  so  large,  it  is,  at 
all  events,  quite  as  well  furnished.  The  days  that  are  past  were 
distinguished  for  theologians ;  but  we  have  theologians  still.  We 
have  had  men  who  were  doctors  of  divinity,  who  are  now  laid  in 
their  graves ;  but  there  are  men  of  the  present  day,  too,  who 
bear  that  distinguished  honor,  and  although  heretofore,  in  the 
century  that  has  passed,  it  has  been  customary  for  theologians  to 
go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  I  think,  in  the  cen- 
tury to  come,  there  will  be  pilgrimages  to  Lake  Raumaug. 

So  it  is  in  the  political  field.     It  will  be  recollected,  that  a 
short  time  since  there  was  a  general  alarm  felt,  that  the  Union 


SPEECH.  183 

was  in  danger,  and  it  became  a  common  question,  and  a  matter 
of  common  interest,  that  the  State  of  Connecticut  should  be 
able  to  do  something,  and  send  some  man  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment who  would  be  able  to  render  aid  in  forging  chains  which 
would  bind  the  Union  together.  And  when  her  citizens  looked 
around  for  the  proper  person,  and  searched  every  other  County 
in  the  State,  they  could  not  find  a  man  who  was  accustomed  to 
give  hard  blows  enough,  until  attention  was  turned  to  the  work- 
shops of  Litchfield  County,  and  there  they  found  a  Smith;  and 
if  the  Smiths  of  Litchfield  can  not  give  hard  blows,  I  should  like 
to  know  who  can  ?  The  same  feeling  pervaded  every  quarter  of 
the  State.  This  was  particularly  true  a  few  years  ago  of  the 
Avestern  district,  comprising  the  counties  of  Fairfield  and  Litch- 
field. These  two  counties  had  a  man  in  Congress  in  whom  they 
put  implicit  confidence,  and  who  was  every  way  worthy  of 
that  confidence; — one  who  had  managed  their  affairs  well. 
Every  body  said  he  was  as  good  a  Butler  as  had  existed  since 
the  days  of  Pharaoh.  But  here  was  an  alarm  about  the  Union, 
again,  and  they  wanted  somebody  to  stand  guard ;  they  did  not 
care  so  much  about  a  man  to  take  care  of  their  affairs,  but  they 
wanted  one  who  could  see  danger  from  afar,  and  they  turned 
their  attention  to  Litchfield  County,  and  got  a  man  who  had 
always  lived  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  highest  hills,  and  had  been 
looking  and  looking  till  he  had  almost  looked  his  eyes  out.  He 
had  been  accustomed  to  look  so  long  that  many  called  him  See 
More,  (Seymour.)  And  now,  so  long  as  we  have  a  Smith  to 
forge  chains  to  bind  us  together,  and  a  Seymour  to  stand  guard, 
I  think  the  Union  will  be  safe.  (Laughter.) 

Mr.  President,  Litchfield  County  has  done  something  in  anoth- 
er matter.  This  County  was  not  very  much  distinguished  in  its 
earlier  days  foi  poetry ;  the  people  then  cared  more  about  the 
realities  of  life  than  mere  imaginary  existences.  But  at  length 
it  was  thought  desirable  that  poetry  should  be  brought  over  from 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  great  question  was  how  it 
should  be  done.  Here  was  the  sea  intervening,  and  it  was  feared 
that  before  poetry  could  be  got  over,  it  would  be  lost  in  the  ocean. 
But  they  looked  for  aid  to  Litchfield  County,  and  she  erected  a 
bridge  across  the  ocean,  a  regular  Pierre-pont,  over  which  the 
genius  of  poetry  passed,  and  brought  with  her  the  sweet  "Airs  of 


184  SPEECH. 

Palestine."  Lifcchfield  County  has  done  something,  too,  in  the  way 
of  the  mechanical  arts.  I  should  be  glad  to  know  how  the  world 
could  get  along,  even  at  the  present  day,  without  the  aid  of  Litch- 
field  County  clocks  ?  The  men  might  know  when  to  get  up  in  the 
morning,  and  go  to  bed  at  night ;  but  how  in  the  world  would  their 
wives  know  when  to  get  dinner,  if  it  were  not  for  Litchfield  County 
clocks  ?  Then,  again,  I  suppose  the  world  could  have  got  along  as 
it  always  had  done  in  years  gone  by,  without  those  means  of  com- 
munication which  exist  at  the  present  period.  But  railroads 
have  come  to  be  a  sort  of  necessity,  and  I  should  like  to  know 
how  we  could  have  had  railroads  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  iron 
mines  in  Litchfield  County  ?  And  after  the  rails  were  provided, 
if  one  of  the  sons  of  that  County  had  not  kindly  consented  to 
be  the  President  of  one  Railroad  Company,  the  Secretary  of 
another,  and  a  Director  of  the  rest,  so  that  he  might  be  called 
the  bear-all  (Burrall,)  of  the  whole  concern, — we  might  have  had 
to  travel  in  wagons  still,  and  instead  of  there  being  such  a  num- 
ber of  sons  and  daughters  gathered  here  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  there  would  have  been  so  few  here  on  this  occasion,  that 
our  friends  would  have  had  no  reason  to  spread  such  a  broad  tent 
as  this  for  our  accommodation.  So  we  see  that  our  very  enjoy- 
ments, as  well  as  reminiscences,  are  owing  to  our  good  old  mother 
Litchfield. 

Mr.  President,  the  present  occasion  is  not  only  one  of  joyous- 
ness,  but  one  of  seriousness  also.  We  ought  not  only  to  look 
and  see  to  what  we  are  indebted  for  the  present,  but  we  should 
remember  that  we  stand  upon  the  commencement  of  another  cen- 
tury ;  we  ought  to  realize  and  feel  that  of  whatever  advantage 
Litchfield  County  has  been  to  us,  whatever  it  has  made  us,  there 
is  the  higher  weight  of  responsibility  resting  upon  as  that  when 
another  Centennial  is  celebrated,  our  descendants  and  our  suc- 
cessors may  come  together  here  and  recount  with  honor  and  with 
pride  what  has  been  done  during  another  century.  If  Litchfield 
County,  beginning  as  we  have  heard  a  century  ago,  a  mere  waste, 
a  howling  wilderness,  with  here  and  there  a  few  bright  spots,  a 
few  settlers  in  one  place  and  another,  has  done  so  much,  what 
ought  we  to  do,  and  what  ought  Litchfield  County  to  do  in  the 
century,  upon  which  we  have  entered,  starring  as  we  do  from 
where  they  left  off,  and  commencing  with  all  these  advantages 


SPEECH.  185 

thus  gathered  together  and  placed  at  our  disposal  ?  Nor  is  this 
the  only  consideration  which  should  weigh  upon  our  minds.  We 
must  recollect  that  the  arts,  within  the  last  half  century,  have 
made  man  a  different  being  from  what  he  was  before.  The  tele- 
graph and  railroads  have  given  man  a  species  of  ubiquity ;  he  can 
speak  and  his  voice  will  be  heard  for  thousands  of  miles.  The 
very  speeches  which  these  distinguished  gentlemen  have  been 
making  here  to-day,  will  probably  be  read  in  St.  Louis  or  New 
Orleans,  to-morrow.  Man  has  now  a  power  to  speak  to  a  much 
greater  number  of  men  than  ever  before,  and  can  exercise  an  in- 
fluence upon  a  far  greater  number  of  individuals ;  and  this  throws 
upon  him  a  responsibility,  which  nothing  but  the  training  which 
Litchfield  County  has  given  to  her  sons  would  ever  enable  him 
to  pass  through  with  credit.  Let  every  son  of  Litchfield  Coun- 
ty, while  he  recounts  with  gratitude  what  has  been  done  by  the 
County  for  him,  while  he  recalls  with  pride  what  has  been  done  by 
his  forefathers,  remember  that  we  who  are  here  now  are  com- 
mencing a  new  career ;  ajid  let  us  so  conduct  and  so  exert  our- 
selves in  whatever  situations  we  may  be  placed,  that  the  next 
century  will  have  more  deeds  to  recount,  and  the  next  Centennial 
will  be  held  with  a  greater  degree  of  satisfaction  and  pride. 


SONG. 


AULD  LANG'S YNE  was  then  admirably  sung; — the  stanzas  by  the  choir, 
and  the  chorus  by  the  audience ; — in  the  following  words,  prepared  for 
the  occasion,  by  the  REV.  H.  GOODWIN,  of  Canaan. 


"  Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 
And  never  brought  to  mind  ? 
Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 
And  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne  ? 

For  Auld  Lang  Syne  my  friends, 

For  Auld  Lang  Syne, 

We'll  join  the  hand  of  kindness  yet 

For  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


Our  Fathers  here  their  dwellings  reared, 
In  social  state  combined, 
These  swelling  fields  their  labors  cleared, 
For  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 

3 

Those  ancient  homes  they  guarded  well, 
And  stood  by  freedom's  shrine ; 


188  SONG. 

And  many  a  fearless  warrior  fell, 
In  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 

4 

And  we  were  nursed  amid  these  hills, 
And  in  these  vales  reclined ; 
But  we  have  wandered  far  away 
Since  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 

5 

We've  roamed  across  the  prairie  wild, 
The  mountain  pass  have  climbed, 
And  placed  the  school-house  in  the  wild, 
Since  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 

6 

We've  cleared  and  reaped  the  fields  of  toil ; 
1  We've  bid  the  church-bells  chime ; 
And  raised  the  halls  of  learning  high, 
Since  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 


We've  mingled  in  the  city's  strife, 
We've  delved  within  the  mine, 
And  braved  the  ocean's  stormy  waves, 
Since  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 


SONG.  189 


8 


Hope  lured  us  onward  in  our  course, 
While  joy  around  us  shined ; 
But  many  a  cloud  of  care  hath  pass'd, 
Since  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 


The  sturdy  men  of  yore  have  gone, 
And  brothers  in  their  prime  ; 
The  lov'd  and  good  have  disappeared, 
Since  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne, 
"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 

10 

We  part  again  to  distant  scenes, 
And  leave  this  hallowed  shrine ; 
But  oft  we'll  think  with  grateful  praise, 
Of  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

"  For  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  &c. 


PRAYER. 


The  following  Prayer  was  then  offered  by  Rev.  FOSDICK  HARRISON, 
now  of  Bethany  : — 

GOD  of  our  fathers,  we  rejoice  that  we  may  recognize  Thee  as 
our  God  ;  that  Thou  hast  kindly  brought  us  together  under  cir- 
cumstances of  so  much  interest,  and  surrounded  us  with  so  many 
testimonials  of  Thy  loving  kindness,  and  that  Thou  art  calling 
upon  us  to  render  our  united  tribute  of  gratitude  to  Thee,  the 
Author  and  Giver  of  all  our  mercies.  It  becomes  us,  as  de- 
scendants of  a  puritan  ancestry,  to  render  thanks  to  Thy  name, 
for  all  the  mercy  manifested  to  our  fathers  in  days  that  are  past ; 
that  Thou  didst  mercifully  sustain  them  in  their  days  of  trial, 
darkness  and  peril ;  that  Thou  didst  enable  them  to  lay  broad 
and  deep  the  foundations  of  all  those  institutions,  civil  and  reli- 
gious, with  which  we  have  been  blessed.  We  thank  Thee  that  it 
was  their  first  care  to  erect  churches,  and  to  provide,  by  common 
schools,  for  the  education  of  the  rising  generation.  We  bless 
Thee,  our  Heavenly  Father^  that  we  had  fathers  and  mothers  who 
early  took  us  by  the  hand  and  led  us  up  to  the  house  of  prayer, 
and  placed  upon  us  the  broad  seal  of  Thine  own  everlasting  cove- 
nant, and  taught  us  to  remember  the  Sabbath  and  reverence  the 
sanctuary.  We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  hallowed  influences  which, 
through  their  instrumentality,  have  come  down  to  us,  their  de- 
scendants, and  we  bless  Thee  that  from  distant  parts  of  this 
widely  extended  land,  so  many  sons  of  this  beloved  section  of  our 
country  have  been  permitted  to  assemble  here,  and  mingle  their 
congratulations,  and  repeat  their  testimonials  of  respect  for  each 
other  and  their  native  land.  We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  interest- 
ing scenes  we  have  enjoyed,  and  now,  our  Father,  as  the  hour  of 
separation  has  arrived,  as  we  part  to  meet  no  more  on  earth,  un- 
der circumstances  like  the  present,  let  a  deep  solemnity  pervade 
every  mind  ;  and  while  we  feel  duly  grateful  for  all  Thy  loving 
kindness  manifested  to  our  fathers  in  their  days,  and  until  the 


PRAYER    AND   BENEDICTION.  191 

present  time,  may  we  humble  ourselves  for  our  departures  from 
Thee,  and  humbly  pray  for  the  pardon  of  our  multiplied  rebellions 
against  Thee.  0  give  us  hearts  to  appreciate  and  improve  the 
privileges  we  enjoy,  that  it  may  not  be  for  our  greater  condemna- 
tion that  we  have  been  thus  exalted  in  point  of  privilege ;  and  we 
pray  that  Thou  wouldst  go  with  us  in  our  various  ways,  to  our 
several  homes.  Grant  Thy  continued  care,  and  smile  on  the  in- 
habitants of  this  County  in  coming  time.  0  let  our  sons  and 
daughters  preserve  the  principles  they  have  been  taught,  and  let 
a  holy  influence  descend  upon  them,  and  let  a  wider  influence  go 
forth  from  these  hills,  combining  to  bless  our  widely  extended 
land.  And  0,  make  us  mindful,  our  Heavenly  Father,  that 
though  our  present  meeting  must  terminate  forever,  we  are  hast- 
ening onward  to  the  day  when  we  shall  meet  in  a  more  august 
assembly,  when  the  fathers  of  the  generations  past,  and  those  of 
the  present,  and  the  multitudes  that  shall  come  after  us,  shall 
meet  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  to  render 
an  account  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  So  help  us  to  im- 
prove our  privileges,  that  when  the  summons  comes,  we  may 
give  up  our  account  with  joy,  and  hear  the  welcome  invitation, 
"  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  And  now,  to  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  undivided  honors,  world 
without  end.  Amen. 

BENEDICTION. 

THE  Rev.  THOMAS  ROBBINS,  D.  D.,  of  Hartford,  a  native  of  Norfolk, 
pronounced  the  Benediction,  as  follows  : — 

MAY  the  God  of  peace,  who  brought  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead,  the  Great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  make  you  per- 
fect in  every  good  work  to  <do  His  will,  working  in  you  that 
which  is  well  pleasing  in  His  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord  and  Saviour.  Amen. 


POEMS. 


SEVERAL  Poems  were  prepared  by  different  individuals  for  the 
occasion,  and  forwarded  to  the  Committee,  among  which  were 
the  following : 

INVITATION  TO  LITCHFIELD  COUNTY  JUBILEE. 

BY   P.    K.   KILBOUKNE. 

LONG  dreaming  where  "  the  seat  of  empire"  lay, 
Westward  the  Sons  of  Litchfield  take  their  way, 
And  in  the  regions  of  the  setting  sun 
Their  proudest,  noblest  victories  'are  won  ! 
They  build  their  cabins  on  the  rushing  rills, 
Their  spires  point  heaven-ward  from  a  thousand  hills, 
The  wild  beast's  howl  yields  to  the  hammer's  clang, 
Their  songs  go  up  where  once  the  war-whoop  rang ; 
They  start  the  eagle  in  his  mountain  eyrie, 
Follow  the  war-path  o'er  the  trackless  prairie ; 
They  wander  where  the  cold  Nebraska  roars, 
They  plant  our  standard  on  Pacific  shores, 
And  in  their  wake,  beneath  congenial  skies, 
New  States  extend  their  sway,  new  cities  rise. 
And  there  are  orbs  of  milder  light  than  they, 
Radiant  with  love  and  gentle  as  the  day, 


POEMS. 

Waking  responsive  joys  in  kindred  souls 
In  some  far  cot  where  the  Missouri  rolls  ! 

Still,  truants  from  our  households  tho'  they  be, 

Their  spirits  wing  their  way  o'er  land  and  sea, 

And,  freed  from  mortal  weariness,  in  dreams 

They  climb  our  hills  and  wander  by  our  streams — 

Revisit  each  fair  scene  they  loved  of  yore, 

And  greet  in  fancy's  realm  those  they  may  meet  no  more  ! 

Oh,  all  of  these,  from  Life's  diverging  track, 

To  their  old  homes  we  fain  would  welcome  back, 

To  share  the  festive  scenes,  the  joy,  the  glee, 

The  life  and  soul  of  our  great  Jubilee  ! 

Come  home,  ye  searchers  after  fame,  come  home 

From  scenes  and  friends  like  these  why  should  ye  roam  ? — 

Lawyers  and  statesmen,  farmers,  merchants,  teachers, 

Doctors,  dealers  in  stocks,  tin  pedlers,  preachers — 

Come,  from  'mid  northern  snows  and  tropic  flowers, 

From  prairie-land,  and  blooming  orange-bowers, 

From  California's  realm  of  gold  and  graves, 

From  mountain  land,  and  from  the  mountain-waves ; — 

Men,  matrons,  maidens,  children- — come  ye  all, 

And  share  the  glorious  BANTAM  FESTIVAL  ! 


POEMS.  195 


A  CALL  TO  THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

BY  A  NATIVE  OF  WOODBUBY. 

BROTHERS  !  from  each  laughing  valley, 
From  our  hill-sides,  rough  and  bold, 

Round  our  common  center  rally, 
Like  the  Jewish  tribes  of  old ! 

Fathers,  come  !  your  locks  will  whiten — 

Mothers  !  ye  are  young  no  more ; 
But  your  fading  hopes  will  brighten, 

With  the  memories  of  yore ! 

Come  ye  sons,  so  sturdy,  growing, 

Strong  and  tall,  as  freemen  should  ; — 

Bring  your  sisters,  fluttering,  glowing, 
Like  rose-laurels  in  a  wood. 

We  will  tell  you,  if  you  listen, 

How  an  hundred  years  ago, 
Pilgrims  saw  our  waters  glisten 

In  the  valley,  far  below  ; 

Where  the  forest,  grand  and  lonely, 

In  primeval  beauty  stood, 
And  the  wandering  red  men,  only 

Knew  the  windings  through  the  wood ; 

Where  our  household  fires  are  burning, 
Wild  deer  bounded,  far  and  free, 


196  POEMS. 

Streams,  our  busy  mill-wheels  turning 
Idly,  sang  a  song  of  glee ; 

Where  our  fathers  sat  beside  them, 
After  travel  long  and  sore — 

Fearing  nought  that  could  betide  them, 
Might  they  find  a  home  once  more  ! 

For  a  home,  they  fronted  danger — 
Wrought  with  rifle  lying  near  : 

To  all  luxury  a  stranger, 
Was  each  dauntless  Pioneer. 

Noble  Fathers !  silent  lying 
In  your  grave  rest,  stern  and  cold, 

Still  ye  preach,  with  voice  undying, 
To  your  children,  from  the  mould ! 
I 

And  ye  tell  us,  "  Love  each  other ;  " 

"  Guard  the  homes,  we  toiled  to  win, 
Let  no  hatred  of  your  brother, 
Doubt  or  malice,  enter  in  !" 

"  Chiefly,  on  each  household  altar, 
Keep  devotion  burning  bright, 

Then,  ye  will  not  pause  or  falter 
In  the  doing  of  the  right!" 

"  Firm  in  purpose  and  endeavor — 
Tireless,  till  the  goal  be  won, 

Men  shall  know  you,  -wheresoever 
There  is  labor  to  be  done." 


POEMS.  197 


Ye  are  freemen !     Ye  may  glory, 
In  your  union,  firm  and  strong  ;- 

Let  no  future  tell  a  story, 
Of  dissension,  or  of  tm>ng. 

Look  into  each  others  faces — 
Ye  will  meet  again  no  more ! 

Then  depart  and  fill  ye  places 
Better  than  you  did  before. 
13 


POEMS. 


FOE  THE  CENTENNIAL. 

BY  REV.    J.   LEE. 
I. 

UPON  our  hills  no  moss-clad  castles  rise, 
No  massive  towers  and  turrets  pierce  the  sides, 
To  tell  of  lordly  chiefs  of  ancient  fame, 
Their  fallen  power  and  greatness  to  proclaim. 
And  call  our  thoughts  to  distant  ages  fled. 
To  wars  of  kings  and  mighty  princes  dead  : 
No  dark  monastic  walls  and  gloomy  cells, 
Here  show  the  seats  where  superstition  dwells, 
Where  sweet  domestic  ties  are  burst  in  twain, 
And  joys  of  home  will  ne'er  be  known  again. 

II. 

Green  fields,  and  flocks,  and  herds,  and  harvests  fair, 
And  fallows  furrow'd  by  the  burnish'd  share, 
And  forests  waving  on  each  mountain  height, 
Dear  memories  wake,  and  scenes  of  pure  delight, 
In  by-gone  days,  while  yet  these  hearts  were  young, 
And  all  their  chords  to  nature's  joys  were  strung, 
When  near  the  sacred  fane  the  school-house  stood, 
Where  first  our  minds  to  learning's  paths  were  woo'd, 
And  from  each  spire  rang  clear  the  Sabbath  bell, 
To  call  our  thoughts  on  themes  divine  to  dwell 


POEMS.  199 

m. 

No  triple  crown  here  wields  the  sword  of  state, 
To  doom  our  conscience  to  the  felon's  fate, 
To  shut  the  book  of  God  from  vulgar  eyes, 
And  guard  the  holy  portals  of  the  skies  ; 
The  open  page  of  truth  divine  we  scan, 
And  learn  the  grace  that  saves  apostate  man, 
The  gospel  for  the  poor,  of  price  untold, 
With  pardons  full,  unbought  with  bribing  gold — 
For  boons  so  rich  we  humbly  bow  the  knee, 
And  bless  the  hand  divine  that  made  us  free. 

IV. 

Religion,  here,  has  shone  with  purest  ray, 
To  guide  our  footsteps  in  the  "narrow  way," 
And  righteous  law  o'er  loyal  subjects  reigned, 
Our  hearths  protected  and  our  rights  maintained — 
For  this  fair  heritage,  so  dearly  bought, 
With  tears  and  toils  and  bloody  battles  fought, 
Thy  name,  our  fathers'  God,  alone  we  praise  ; — 
To  Thee  with  one  accord  loud  anthems  raise  : 
And  when  our  dust  with  dust  ancestral  lies, 
0  bless  our  HOMES,  till  suns  no  more  shall  rise. 


POEMS. 


THE  CENTENNIAL. 

BY  H.   WARD. 

A  century's  flight  hath  marked  the  age, 
Since  Justice  with  her  sword  and  scales, 

First  took  her  seat,  with  counsel  sage, 
Amid  these  quiet  hills  and  vales. 

Through  that  long  vista  o'er  the  stream 
Of  Time,  that  flows  with  rapid  tide, 

What  visions  in  the  distance  gleam, 
To  tell  how  vain  is  human  pride  ! 

The  blast  of  war — the  clang  of  arms, 
Have  oft  resounded  loud  and  long : 

And  warriors,  fired  by  Freedom's  charms, 
Have  listened  to  her  thrilling  song. 

They  fought  and  bled  ; — Columbia  rose 
Sublime  above  the  stormy  vale, 

The  joy  of  friends,  the  dread  of  foes, 
With  glory  that  can  never  fail. 

And  far  beyond  the  ocean's  waves, 
Contending  nations  have  gone  down ; 

The  ivy  twines  around  their  graves, 
Where  perish  sceptre,  throne  and  crown. 


POEMS.  201 


These  quiet  hills,  these  gentle  vales, 
Now  richly  clothed  in  summer's  green, 

Have  smiled  as  now,  when  balmy  gales 
Swept  o'er  the  undulating  scene. 

No  rude  alarms  of  hostile  foes 

Have  echoed  'mid  these  green  retreats ! 
But  calm  as  yon  bright  lake's  repose, 

Peace  reigned  o'er  all  these  rural  seats. 

Heaven  bless  the  friends  of  early  years, 
And  all  who  meet  once  more  in  joy, 

Where  Friendship  here  her  altar  rears, 
To  greet  her  sons  without  alloy. 


202  POEMS. 

THE  FLAG. 

BY  J.   L.   WADSWORTH. 

Fling  out  the  flag  of  Liberty ! 

The  summer  winds  should  play 
With  its  unfolded  stars  and  stripes, 

Upon  this  festal  day. 
Our  fathers  cared  not  for  their  lives, 

So  it  might  freely  wave  ; — 
Tis  meet  that  it  should  float  above, 

The  children  of  the  brave. 

The  banner  of  Saint  George's  cross, 

Was  wont  its  shade  to  throw 
Upon  the  pilgrim's  refuge  land, 

A  hundred  years  ago  ; 
But  praises  to  the  pilgrim's  God, 

A  freer  banner  now, 
Floats  o'er  the  land  where  rests  in  peace 

The  weary  pilgrim's  brow. 

Still  be  its  stars  for  the  oppressed 

A  cheering,  guiding  light, 
Its  stripes,  the  bond  of  brotherhood 

That  freemen  still  unite. 
And,  till  the  centuries  cease  to  roll, 

Still  fluttering  on  the  sky, 
Be  it  the  standard  of  a  race 

Whose  freedom  ne'er  shall  die ! 


POEMS.  203 


A  CALL  TO  THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

BY  J.    L.   WADSWORTH. 

From  northern  homes,  from  southern  climes, 

From  mart  and  lonely  mead, 
From  where  the  red  man  fades  away 

Before  the  white  man's  tread ; 
Who  wanders  from  his  native  land,  • 

Who  loves  this  highland  shore, 
We  bid  you  gather  here  again ; 

Come  to  your  home  once  more ! 

The  graves  are  green  ye  left  behind, 

And  many  a  later  mound, 
Within  the  field  of  sepulchres, 

Those  ancient  graves  surround ; 
But  none  will  e'er  return  again, 

Those  gloomy  portals  through  ; 
So  come  to  us  and  shed  a  tear 

Upon  the  old  and  new. 

We  cannot  say,  to  win  you  back, 

That  we  are  growing  great ; 
We  cannot  boast  of  mighty  deeds, 

Of  pomp,  or  show,  or  state. 
But  we  dwell  among  those  green  old  hills, 

A  quiet,  noiseless  band, 
And  from  your  olden  haunts  we  call — 

Come  to  your  father  land ! 


204  -  POEMS. 


CENTENNIAL  ODE. 

BY  J.   L.   WADSWORTH. 

GATHERED  amid  the  scenes  of  yore, 

The  honored  and  ancestral  hills, 

Where  hope's  young  pinion,  wont  to  soar, 

Did  triumph  o'er  lifes  future  ills  ; 

We  come  from  forests  of  the  west, 

Or  where  Atlantic  billows  flow, 

From  homes  our  fathers  footsteps  pressed, 

Pilgrims,  an  hundred  years  ago. 

Glad  greetings  for  the  olden  friends 
Of  childhood's  free  and  joyous  hour ! 
Fond  memories  for  each  tree  that  bends, 
Each  home-like  bird,  each  home-like  flower ! 
But  worship,  to  the  shrines  we  bring, 
Where  er'st  our  sires,  in  homage  low, 
Were  wont  their  hymns  of  praise  to  sing 
To  God,  an  hundred  years  ago. 

The  wing  of  time,  with  tireless  might, 
Hath  borne  the  century  day  by  day, — 
Unequal  to  the  ceaseless  flight, 
Wearied,  we  soon  shall  sink  away. 
Then  let  us  choose  the  truth  as  those 
Who  humbly  walked  with  God  below, 
And  from  these  hills,  we  trust,  arose 
To  heaven,  an.hundred  years  ago. 


POEMS.  205 


EPISTLE  TO  POSTERITY. 

ADDRESSED  to  those  who  shall  meet  to  celebrate  the  Second  Centennial 
Anniversary  of  Litchfield  County,  August  14th,  1951. 

BY  P.   KENYON   KILBOURNE. 

OUR  Jubilee  is  over !  Far  and  wide, 
Through  lane  and  turnpike,  pour  the  living  tide ; 
Each  homeward  hies,  with  pleasure-beaming  eye, 
And  heart  all  redolent  with  purpose  high. 
Erewhile,  another  race,  in  strange  array, 
Will  welcome  to  the  world  Youfc  festive-day ; 
0,  when  it  dawns,  "  may  I  be  there  to  see," 
Though  strown  through  every  land  my  dust  may  be ! 

Hail,  unborn  brothers !  from  these  heights  of  time, 
I  fain  would  greet  you  with  the  voice  of  rhyme, 
And  send  my  greeting  down  the  vale  of  tears, 
Through  the  long  windings  of  an  hundred  years. 
Think  no,t  my  toast  a  lifeless  thing,  even  though 
It  cometh  from  the  grave  of  long  ago : 
"  A  health  to  each,  and  joy  be  with  you  all, 
Who  gather  here  at  your  great  Festival!" 

0,  could  the  bard  but  claim  the  prophet's  eye, 
And  read  for  you  a  glorious  destiny, 
What  pride  would  mingle  in  his  cup  of  bliss, 
To  be  your  Poet  on  a  day  like  this ! 


POEMS. 


'Twere  more  than  fame,  if  down  through  storms  and  tears, 
These  lines  shall  reach  you  in  the  far-off  years, 
For  other  hands  must  weave  your  civic  crown — 
New  names  must  grace  your  ensigns  of  renown. 

Conjecture  all !    No  glass  can  penetrate 
The  unknown  void  that  hides  the  scroll  of  fate ; 
No  still  small  voice,  no  charioteer  of  flame, 
Hath  told  us  of  your  glory,  or  your  shame. 
Perhaps,  as  ye  shall  read  of  us,  ye'll  boast 
Your  parents  were  of  "  that  enlightened  host ;  " 
Perhaps  in  sackcloth  mourn,  that  ye  must  trace 
Your  lineage  to  our  wild  barbarian  race ! 

It  may  be  yours  to  seal'your  faith  in  blood, 

Martyrs  for  God,  or  for  your  country's  good; — 

Soldiers  in  that  dread  war  of  death  with  life, 

When  Gog  and  Magog  mingle  in  the  strife. 

It  may  be  yours  to  hail  that  promised  day, 

When  truth  shall  hold  her  universal  sway — 

When  war,  and  want,  and  wrong,  and  crime,  shall  cease, 

And  nations  own  thy  sway,  0,  Prince  of  Peace ! 

If  true,  as  hath  been  said  by  saint  and  sage, 
The  world  shall  grow  in  wisdom  as  in  age, 
Ye,  who  have  soar'd  to  heights  we  cannot  see, 
Will  need  no -teachings  from  such  worms  as  we. 
If  you,  like  us,  must  tread  life's  weary  way, 
Where  clouds  and  storms  may  close  the  fairest  day — 
Where  friends  must  die — where  love's  bright  chain  must  sever 
In  weal — in  woe — God  be  your  guide  forever ! 


POEMS.  207 

However  MAN  may  change  for  good  or  ill, 

The  years  will  roll,  their  cycles  to  fulfil ; 

Tired  nature  sleeps  but  to  revive  again ; — 

These  hills,  and  streams,  and  mountains,  will  remain  ; 

Bold  Prospect  still  will  lift  his  brazen  brow, 

Mount  Tom  will  frown  majestic  then  as  now, — 

The  Bantam  waters  roll  their  silver  tide, 

Nor  heed  the  generations  that  have  died. 

LITCHFIELD,  Thursday  Eve.,  Aug.  14th,  1851. 


POETKAITS. 


AGREEABLY  to  the  request  of  the  Central  Committee,  in  their 
Circular  of  the  22d  of  March,  and  in  conformity  to  a  vote  of  the 
Central  and  Town  Committees,  at  their  meeting  on  the  19th  of 
July,  repeating  the  request,  the  following  Portraits  were  for- 
warded to  the  Committee  and  arranged  in  the  Court-room,  where 
they  were  open  to  the  inspection  of  visitors,  and  attracted  much 
attention  through  the  days  of  the  Celebration,  viz  : — 

A  Bust  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  Governor  of  this  State  from  1817 
to  1827  ;  by  Clerenger. 

An  elegant  full  length  portrait  of  Hon.  Frederick  Wolcott,  of 
Litchfield,  Clerk  of  the  Courts  for  forty  years ;  taken  by  Waldo 
&  Jewett. 

Col.  Benjamin  Tallmadge,  of  Litchfield,  for  many  years  mem- 
ber of  Congress  ;  by  Stuart. 

Col.  Wm.  F.  Tallmadge,  son  of  Benjamin  T.,  and  an  officer 
in  the  War  of  1812. 

Hon.  James  Gould,  of  Litchfield,  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  and  Court  of  Errors ;  by  Waldo. 

Wife  of  Hon.  James  Gould,  taken  when  19  years  old,  and  four 
years  after  her  marriage  ;  by  Waldo. 

Major  Moses  Seymour,  of  Litchfield,  taken  in  the  uniform 
which  he  wore  at  Burgoyne's  defeat ;  by  Ralph  Earle,  in  1789. 

Mrs.  Moses  Seymour,  and  son  Epaphro  ;  by  Earle. 

Moses  Seymour,  Jr.,  son  of  Major  Moses  S. ;  miniature. 

Wife  of  Moses  Seymour,  Jr. ;  miniature. 

Ozias  Seymour,  Esq.,  for  many  years  Sheriff  of  Litchfield 
County ;  by  Snyder. 


PORTRAITS.  209 


Rev.  Truman  Marsh ;  by  Earle,  in  1789. 

do.  by  Snyder,  about  1842. 

Mrs.  Truman  Marsh  ;  by  Earle,  in  1789. 

Nathaniel  Church,  of  Salisbury,  father  of  Chief  Justice  Church. 

Nathaniel  Smith,  of  "Woodbury,  Judge  of  the  Superior  and 
Supreme  Courts. 

Mrs.  Nathaniel  Smith. 

Rev.  Noah  Benedict,  of  "Woodbury,  father  of  Mrs.  N.  Smith. 

Dr.  John  S.  Wolcott,  son  of  Gov.  Wolcott ;  by  Snyder. 

Daniel  N.  Brinsmade,  of  Washington,  Judge  of  the  County 
Court. 

Rev.  Ammi  R.  Robbins,  of  Norfolk. 

William  Battcll,  Esq.,  of  Torrington. 

Hon.  Augustus  Pettibone,  of  Norfolk,  Chief  Judge  of  County 
Court. 

Samuel  Forbes,  of  Canaan. 

Alpha  Rockwell,  the  first  person  born  in  Colebrook. 

Mrs.  Rockwell,  mother  of  the  above. 

Gen.  Morris  Woodruff,  of  Litchfield  ;  by  A.  Dickinson. 

Col.  Perry  Averill,  of  New  Preston. 

Rev.  N.  W.  Taylor,  Professor  in  Yale  College. 

David  Bellamy,  Esq.,  of  Bethlem,  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Bellamy. 

Hon.  Joseph  H.  Bellamy,  grandson  of  Rev.  Dr.  B. 

Daniel  Bacon,  Esq.,  of  Woodbury. 

Gen.  Chauncey  Crafts,  of  Woodbury. 

Rev.  Azel  Backus,  Pastor  of  Church  in  Bethlem,  President  of 
Hamilton  College,  Clinton,  N.  Y. 

Gen.  David  Bird,  of  Bethlem. 

Dr.  Daniel  Sheldon,  of  Litchfield ;  by  George  Catlin. 

Rev.  Isaac  Jones,  of  Litchfield ;  by  Snyder. 

Mrs.  Uriel  Holmes,  of  Litchfield,  daughter  of  Judge  Austin, 
New  Hartford. 

Major  General  Francis  Bacon,  of  Litchfield. 

Lieut.  Frederick  Bacon,  of  U.  S.  Navy,  lost  in  the  "  Sea  Gull." 

E.  C.  Bacon,  Esq.,  of  Litchfield. 

Upon  which  the  editors  of  the  New  Haven  Register  remarked, 
that  "  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  this  festival,  was 
the  display  of  family  portraits  at  the  Court  House.  We  were 


210  PORTRAITS. 


struck  -with  their  resemblance  to  the  children  of  the  third  and 
fourth  generation." 

The  editor  of  the  New  Haven  Journal  observed,  that  "  among 
the  most  interesting  exhibitions,  at  the  Litchfield  Jubilee,  was 
the  gallery  of  pictures  at  the  Court  House,  where  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  County  assembled  to  celebrate  its  birth-day, 
could  look  upon  the  portraits  of  their  fathers  and  mothers  of  the 
'  homespun  age,'  whose  wisdom,  purity  and  virtue,  contributed 
so  much  to  the  glory  of  the  place  of  their  nativity.  There  were 
pictures  in  every  style  of  art,  from  the  highest  excellence  to  the 
daub  of  the  traveling  painter.  '  Many  of  them  were  taken  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  last  century,  by  Earle ;  and  the  quaint  dresses 
of  many  of  the  ladies,  represented  to  our  eye  something  more  of 
the  aristocracy  of  the  Court,  than  the  simplicity  of  Dr.  Bush- 
nell's  '  Kings  and  Queens  of  Homespun.'  There  were  the  old 
illustrious  names  of  the  County,  looking  down  upon  their  de- 
scendants from  the  walls  of  the  ancient  Court  House,  where 
many  of  them  had  been  wont  to  assemble  during  life,  when  its 
bar  and  bench  possessed  a  greater  array  of  talent  than  any  other 
in  the  land,  and  where  were  their  children  looking  with  honest 
pride,  on  the  noble  and  intellectual  faces  of  their  ancestors." 


CONCLUDING  EBMAEKS. 


AN  attempt  was  made  to  keep  a  Register  of  the  names  of  all 
who  attended  the  celebration,  with  a  view  to  publication.  And 
for  that  purpose,  books  were  lodged  at  the  several  Hotels,  and 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Tent,  and  a  request  announced  through 
the  village  papers,  and  in  handbills,  and  from  the  platform,  that 
every  person  in  attendance,  would  enter  his,  or  her,  name,  place 
of  residence,  and  birth.  But,  owing  to  the  immense  crowd,  and 
to  the  fact  that  nearly  every  moment  was  occupied  with  the 
public  exercises,  very  few  complied  with  the  request,  so  that  the 
Register  was  too  imperfect  to  be  published. 

Among  those  in  attendance,  besides  those  already  named,  we 
noticed  Lieut.  Gov.  Kendrick,  of  Waterbury ;  President  Wool- 
sey,  of  Yale  College ;  Col.  Amasa  Parker,  of  Demi,  N.  Y.,  a 
native  of  Sharon;  Wm.  Rockwell,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  a 
native  of  Sharon ;  Gamaliel  II.  Barstow,  late  Treasurer  of  the 
State  of  New  York  ;  Thomas  Day,  Esq.,  late  Secretary  of  this 
State,  a  native  of  Washington ;  David  Prentice,  late  Professor 
of  Mathematics  in  Geneva  College,  a  native  of  Bcthlern  ;  Hon. 
D.  B.  St.  John,  Superintendent  of  the  New  York  Banking  De- 
partment, Albany,  a  native  of  Sharon;  Lawrence  Hull,  of 
Angelica,  N.  YT.,  a  native  of  Bethlem ;  Dr.  John  Peck,  of  Ver- 
mont, a  native  of  Woodbury  ;  Dr.  Goodscll,  of  Utica,  a  native  of 
Washington,  and  E.  D.  Mansfield,  Esq.,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Also  the  following  natives  of  Litchfield,  viz. :  Hon.  Jno.  W.  Allen, 
late  member  of  Congress  from  the  Cleveland  district,  Ohio : 
Hon.  Horatio  Seymour,  of  Utica ;  Hon.  John  A.  Collier,  late 
Comptroller  of  New  York ;  Hon.  Robert  Pierpont,  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Vermont ;  J.  Iluntington  Wolcott,  of  Boston ; 


212  CONCLUDING    REMARKS. 

H.  F.  Tallmadge,  U.  S.  Marshal,  New  York ;  Jno.  Kilbourn, 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  Canada ;  Wm.  M.  Clark, 
Esq.,  of  New  York ;  Hon.  Wm.  V.  Peck,  of  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court ;  Guy,  Theodore,  and  Ashbel  Catlin, 
of  Vermont. 

Among  the  venerable  men  of  other  days,  we  noticed  on  the 
platform,  Daniel  Lamson,  of  Litchfield,  aged  97  ;  also,  Elisha 
Mason,  of  the  same  town,  aged  94 — both  heroes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion; also  Ebenezer  Landon,  of  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  aged  91 — having 
traveled  over  300  miles  to  attend  the  celebration,  accompanied 
by  his  son  and  daughter,  and  had  been  absent  from  Litchfield  46 
years. 

The  early  and  efficient  arrangements  of  the  Central  Committee 
for  providing  strangers  with  accommodations,  for  the  preservation 
of  good  order,  and  protection  of  property,  were  thoroughly  car- 
ried out  and  executed.  The  Sheriff  of  the  County  and  his  Dep- 
uties were  constantly  patrolling  the  streets  throughout  the  day, 
and  the  detachment  from  the  "  Bacon  Guards"  were  constantly 
on  duty  through  the  night.  No  pocket  was  picked,  no  property 
stolen  or  injured,  no  fighting,  wrangling  or  noise,  no  person  intoxi- 
cated ;  indeed,  perfect  quiet  reigned  throughout  the  whole  period 
of  the  celebration.  We  have  heard  of  no  occurrence  which 
marred  the  happiness  of  the  Jubilee,  or  which  cast  the  least 
cloud  over  any  part  of  the  exercises.  Indeed  it  was  a  general 
remark,  that  on  no  similar  occasion,  was  a  greater  degree  of 
good  order  and  harmony  observed,  than  was  witnessed  here 
throughout  the  whole  celebration.  According  to  the  estimates 
made  by  those  conversant  with  large  assemblages,  there  were 
probably  from  eight  to  nine  thousand  persons  present.  More 
than  one  thousand  visitors  were  lodged  in  the  village  the  first 
night,  and  within  seven  or  eight  miles  around  the  village,  nearly 
two  thousand  more  found  comfortable  lodgings.  Every  dwelling 
was  stowed  with  cheerful  and  happy  guests.  We  have  not  yet 
heard  of  a  person  who  was  unprovided  with  comfortable  accom- 
modations. 


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EDWIK  HUNT, 


BOOKSELLER,  STAflO 


"13 


STACK  > 


BOOKBINDER  &  BLANK  BOSK  MANUFACi 

No.  6  ASYLUM  STREET,  Hartford, 

:its{)es  ttye  follounng  t)atuabU  lDork0: 

LIFE  AND  SERMONS  of  REV.  GEO.  WHITFIELD. 

BOOK  OF  MARTYRS. 

ENGLAND  -  iiOPLB.- 

PI-k(  10.,  13  plates. 

-fIXELL. 

staining  tie  Cam- 
rules  and 

T  Iiurches  in  Connec- 
ew  Hampshire  and  Vermont. 
SCHOOL  REWAI  .  on  sheet. 

I  and  plain. 

CHILD'S  BOOK  o  !  'L,  by  REV.T.H.GALLA 

THE  YOUNG  MAN,  by  REV.  W.  W.  PATT 
SCHOO  J  small  12ino. 

RICJ  no. 

ENCOURAGED,  small  12mo. 
YOT  VICTORY. 

A  M«  ,EA  FOR  THE  SABBATH. 

HENK3;  LAIN 

REVOLUTIONS  IN  EUROPE  from  A.D.  400,  to  1851, 
die  most  remarkable  events  for 
•'0  pa  ires. 

HIST!         ,  SKETCHES  OF  THE  INDIANS  by 

. 


*P* 


* 


%***^^^^^^%%%%^^ 


